Senior aides to U.K.'s Nigel Farage step down in scandal over undercover report

September 4, 2026 / 5:26 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Two senior aides to Nigel Farage, the firebrand leader of the U.K.'s populist Reform party, have stepped down after the party was accused of breaking British electoral law concerning foreign funding in the wake of an investigative news report where a journalist posed as a wealthy American's son who wanted to donate to the party.In a statement, a spokesperson for the party said it was launching an internal probe after the report aired on Britain's Channel 4 news late Thursday. Two Reform party officials, James Orr and Dan Jukes, have left their positions pending the outcome of that investigation, the spokesperson said."The party believes it is important that the investigation is allowed to proceed independently and without prejudice. No further comment will be made while the investigation is ongoing," the spokesperson said.Jukes is widely regarded as Farage's right-hand man, with an "innate sense of his boss' instinct," according to CBS News' partner network BBC News. Orr, an influential figure in the British national conservative movement, served as Reform's head of policy until his resignation. He is a theologian and associate professor of the philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge. Both men denied any wrongdoing.In an interview with a London radio station early Friday, Farage insisted the party had broken no laws."The party has not taken any dodgy money or anything like that whatsoever," Farage told LBC Radio. "However, it is a clear case of entrapment, and they worked at it for a very long time, and they got a couple of our contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said. And as a result of that, they have been removed this morning and yeah, you know, I'm not happy about it." Dan Jukes speaks to Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage in Clacton-on-Sea, Britain, July 2, 2024. Reuters/Hollie Adams Channel 4 stood by the report, with a spokesperson telling BBC News the investigation "has been rigorously verified to ensure accuracy. We would encourage people to watch the investigation in full." The allegations pile further pressure on Farage just as his party's annual conference was getting underway. It also unfolds against the backdrop of scrutiny over donations linked to the party, including an ongoing parliamentary investigation over a multimillion-pound donation from cryptobillionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024. Farage denies any wrongdoing.Speaking to CBS News at the party's conference, Zia Yusuf, a spokesperson for domestic affairs, downplayed any immediate blowback the allegations would have on the party's internal operations."Look, Reform has had many great people who have helped get us to where we are. And I have no doubt, given the talent pipeline that I do have visibility of, both at parliamentary level, potentially, and beyond it, we will withstand this, and ultimately, ultimately will come out strong on the other side," Yusuf said.On Thursday night, Channel 4 aired the investigation that it said was carried out by an undercover team of journalists from a group called Verbatim, which was founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting. The investigation follows one journalist who poses as the British-educated son of a wealthy American businessman from Wyoming, who both appeared eager to support the party, which shares aspects of ideology and policy positions with elements of the MAGA movement, as well as other right-leaning populist movements around the world.British law regards a permissible donor to a U.K. political party as either a U.K.-registered voter or a company. In the scenario that unfolds in the undercover investigation, the son is a permissible donor, and the father is not.Secretly filmed footage purports to show the two party aides arranging donations from the undercover journalist to fund the commissioning of a number of political polls. According to Channel 4, the donations added up to 32,500 British pounds, which is about $44,000.Some of those polls later appeared in news articles for British newspapers such as The Telegraph and the Times of London. The articles, which reflect favorably on the party on issues such as its fortunes in local elections and support among labor union members, do not mention how Reform allegedly commissioned the polls. Jukes is heard telling the undercover journalist that the donation made a "huge impact" for the party while not "showing up anywhere in public records."Orr denied Reform's involvement in the polling, saying in a video posted to social media an "independent person had paid an independent pollster." "No money reached Reform UK at all, no donation reached Reform UK at all — whether it was in cash or in kind," he said. James Orr attends a Reform UK press conference on Aug. 6, 2026, in London. Leon Neal/Getty Images The investigation also includes a discussion between Jukes and the journalist on how to circumvent electoral law to secure a separate foreign donation to the party of 500,000 British pounds, or about $675,000. Channel 4 says that donation was never made. The investigation culminates in a four-way lunch between the journalist posing as the son of the American businessman, an actor playing the businessman, Jukes and Farage.During that meeting, Farage appears to have knowledge that the funding for the polls came from the businessman, and does not appear to be concerned when the son proposes the method by which the 500,000-pound foreign donation could reach the party, saying, "Thank you. Well, both of you. Thank you."Jukes released a statement to BBC News calling the report "entrapment over a prolonged period of nearly a year by foreign-funded climate change activists.""I totally deny any wrongdoing but have stepped back from politics in order to clear my name," Jukes said.In a statement to Sky News, Orr said, "I have agreed to step down from my current role at Reform UK pending the outcome of the party's internal investigation into the conduct of the program, with which I will cooperate fully."At least two of Reform's opponents, the ruling Labour Party and the centrist Liberal Democrats, have written to the Metropolitan Police, alleging breaches of electoral law.In a statement to CBS News, the police said it was aware of reporting "involving political party donations" and alleged breaches of British law relating to polling. The police have not launched an investigation so far, saying it would "assess the matter and any information provided to us."The U.K.'s Electoral Commission, which regulates party and election finance, confirmed it was in contact with the police."The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500," the commission said. "Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider." In: Nigel Farage United Kingdom