British police widen criminal investigation into Reform UK party

British police said on Wednesday a criminal investigation into the populist Reform UK party would be widened to include allegations made in a documentary that officials planned to break electoral law on foreign funding.

Reform, led by veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, denied any wrongdoing and a spokesman for the party said it would “fully cooperate” with the investigation.

Farage, under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog about earlier donations, was forced to sack two of his closest aides last week, after the undercover investigation was aired.

It showed two senior officials in Reform – then head of policy James Orr and Farage’s former right-hand man, Dan Jukes – speaking about funding with a supposed US businessman and his British-based son, including conversations about a payment for three opinion polls commissioned by the party.

On Friday, Reform launched an internal investigation and denied the allegations, saying the party had been the victim of a hoax. Farage described some of the comments as little more than “loose pub talk”.

London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement its detectives had assessed a number of “reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party” and had decided “there are potential offences requiring investigation”.