Two senior Reform UK officials have stepped down from their roles after the party launched an internal investigation into allegations concerning political donations and polling aired by Channel 4 News.
James Orr, Reform UK's head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a senior aide to party leader Nigel Farage, have both stepped aside pending the outcome of the investigation.
A Reform UK spokesman said the party had launched an investigation following the Channel 4 News programme and that both individuals involved had stepped down from their respective positions while it was carried out.
The party said it was important that the investigation should proceed independently and without prejudice, and said it would make no further comment while the inquiry was ongoing.
Undercover investigation focused on polling
The move follows an undercover investigation by Verbatim, whose findings were verified and broadcast by Channel 4 News.
The programme alleged that Orr and Jukes arranged for what they believed was a US company to pay for three opinion polls associated with Reform UK. The three polls cost a total of £32,500.
The supposed overseas donors were in fact undercover investigators posing as a wealthy American financier and his UK-based son.
Channel 4 reported that two of the polls were released ahead of May's local elections and were presented publicly without Reform's role in commissioning them being disclosed.
Reform denies breaking the law
Reform UK denies wrongdoing and has described the undercover operation as a hoax and an attempt at entrapment.
Farage said on Friday that the party had broken no laws and had not taken improper money. He said the polling had nothing to do with the party and that Reform had not commissioned it.
Orr has also disputed that the polling amounted to a benefit or donation in kind to Reform, arguing that it was public polling paid for independently and published for the general public.
Those positions are disputed by the undercover investigation and have not been determined by a court or regulator.
Met Police assessing allegations
The controversy has also been referred to the Metropolitan Police.
The Met said it was aware of reporting involving political party donations and an alleged breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 relating to polling.
Police said they would assess the matter and any information provided to them. At the time of publication, the Met had not announced a formal criminal investigation.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have reported the allegations to police, while the Electoral Commission has said information about any potential attempt to evade controls on donations is a matter for police to consider.
Lee Anderson says pair will not return
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson told Sky News that Orr and Jukes had been told to step down and said there was “no chance” of them returning.
Orr subsequently said he had agreed to step down from his current role pending the outcome of the party's internal investigation and would cooperate fully with it.
The differing language means the formal position remains that both men have stepped down pending the investigation, despite Anderson's stronger public comments about their future.
Farage rejects calls for wider responsibility
The controversy broke as Reform members gathered in Birmingham for the party's annual conference.
Farage has rejected suggestions that the allegations demonstrate wrongdoing by the wider party. He described the undercover operation as entrapment and said two contractors had said things that “perhaps should not have been said”.
Channel 4's investigation also included undercover footage of Farage meeting the supposed donors. The programme reported that he praised the impact of the polling, but Reform disputes that the polls constituted an unlawful donation to the party.
Allegations remain unproven
The decision by Orr and Jukes to step down does not constitute an admission that either man, or Reform UK, broke electoral law.
The central allegations remain under assessment by police and are now also the subject of Reform's internal inquiry.
Unless and until a police investigation, regulator or court reaches a conclusion, claims of breaches of electoral law should therefore be treated as allegations rather than established fact.