Farage was forced to suspend his close aide Dan Jukes and Reform\u2019s head of policy, James Orr<\/a>, on Friday after they were filmed in an undercover investigation appearing to plot to get around electoral laws on foreign donations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The undercover reporters from a group called Verbatim posed as a potential Reform supporter and his wealthy American father, an impermissible donor, who paid for \u00a330,000 of polling commissioned by Reform and which benefited the party when it was published in national newspapers.<\/p>\n The Reform leader himself remains under pressure over a separate clip in which he was heard saying \u201cit\u2019s all above board\u201d after one of the reporters who was posing as the UK-based son of a wealthy US backer told Farage he had been in discussions with Jukes and Orr for some time.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be the registered donor,\u201d the son says. \u201cBut then dad will send the money to me, and then as soon as that\u2019s done and all those conversations are had the money is available.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview on Saturday, Farage told the BBC\u2019s Laura Kuenssberg that \u201cof course\u201d he knew it was illegal for foreign firms to donate to UK parties, adding he was told the money was being given via a UK family office.<\/p>\n When challenged by Kuenssberg that while in Farage\u2019s presence, one of the undercover reporters had said they \u201crun an American family office\u201d, the Reform leader said: \u201cI am not a compliance officer. I was in the middle of canvassing in the Clacton byelection. I turn up. I frankly wasn\u2019t even listening.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI was told there was a global family office based in London, so the money could have come from Singapore. The money could come from all over the world, you know. Income could have come from all over the world into a family office based in London. I know electoral law. I know donation law better than anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Farage\u2019s party had been hoping to move the focus to policy announcements, including on tax cuts, as Reform\u2019s conference closed in Birmingham on Saturday.<\/p>\n Reform MP Robert Jenrick addresses the conference Photograph: Sean Smith\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Its Treasury spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, gave a keynote speech in which he pledged to increase the tax-free personal allowance to \u00a315,000 within the first 100 days if the party were to take office. The threshold has been set at \u00a312,570 since 2021 and is due to remain there until 2031.<\/p>\n But in interviews given earlier in the day to trail the policy, he also found himself forced to deflect from the donations controversy. \u201cThat\u2019s been dealt with,\u201d he told GB News. \u201cThe two individuals concerned have gone, and we\u2019re here today moving forward. The language that they used was clearly inappropriate, that was very disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with Times Radio he said Orr and Jukes had been \u201cpermanently suspended\u201d, appearing to differ from the latest party line that they had \u201cstepped down pending outcome of an investigation\u201d, indicating a possible way back.<\/p>\n Farage meanwhile accused \u201cthe establishment\u201d of trying to derail Reform UK, when challenged by ITV\u2019s Robert Peston on the string of allegations related to his and the party\u2019s finances<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it will go on. You come back and see me in six months, there\u2019ll be five more investigations. It won\u2019t end. This won\u2019t end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Farage said he had some \u201cthoughtful\u201d moments over the summer, claiming his family had been asking him to \u201cwalk away\u201d from politics amid pressure on them and him.<\/p>\n Despite Reform\u2019s efforts to insulate Farage, the Met police are now assessing evidence after a complaint that the Reform leader, as well as Orr and Jukes, may have broken political funding laws<\/a>. They all deny wrongdoing.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to First Edition<\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The final day of the conference also coincided with an appeal by West Midlands police for a woman, who was among climate activists who were removed from the hall on Friday as they heckled Farage\u2019s speech, to come forward after footage emerged over her allegedly being assaulted.<\/p>\n The police initially responded on X to a clip that appeared to show audience members pulling her hair and grabbing her head as she was carried out of the conference hall. West Midlands police later said in a statement that they were aware of a video circulating from the Reform UK conference showing an incident with a protester, and had asked the woman to come forward.<\/p>\n The activist group Climate Resistance, which claimed responsibility for the protest during Farage\u2019s speech , said the protester was considering whether to speak to police.<\/p>\n A heckler is carried out during Nigel Farage\u2019s keynote speech on the second day of Reform UK Annual Conference at NEC in Birmingham, Britain, 4 September 2026. Photograph: Tolga Akmen\/EPA<\/p>\n Nadine Dorries, a former Conservative MP who has joined Reform, said sensitivities were \u201cheightened\u201d in the aftermath of the killing of the Reform spokesperson Ann Widdecombe in July.<\/p>\n \u201cThey tried to completely derail the speech. It was an organised sting again,\u201d she said in an interview with LBC when asked about the incident.<\/p>\n Also speaking on Saturday was Suella Braverman, the party\u2019s education spokesperson who, like Jenrick, is another defector from the Conservatives.<\/p>\n Her speech announced a planned cut of 20% to the number of student loans given, with funds only granted to university courses that can demonstrate good economic returns, with exceptions for some courses \u201cof strategic or cultural importance\u201d.<\/p>\n The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, closed the conference with some final comments. Photograph: Sean Smith\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Farage ended the conference with closing comments to the main hall, where sections of seating were unoccupied and the mood was more subdued than earlier in the event, by telling the Reform faithful that \u201cthere would be good days and bad days\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes we will get things wrong and get a bit of a kicking, but what this conference has shown is that whatever you throw at the leadership, whatever you throw at you, the people\u2019s army, we immediately stop, pick ourselves up and start all over again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n Contact Guardian Politics about this story<\/p>\n The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact the Guardian’s UK Politics team confidentially using the following methods:<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Scroll down and click on Secure Messaging. When asked who you wish to contact please select the Politics (UK) team.<\/p>\n Email<\/p>\n For encrypted email correspondence you can create a free Proton Mail account and email us at guardian.politics.desk@protonmail.com.<\/p>\n SecureDropIf you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788652096_684_1000.jpg\")
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