Politics
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Senior aides to British Trump ally Nigel Farage step down after foreign funding sting
Britain's populist Reform UK said two senior aides to leader Nigel Farage stepped down on Friday after an undercover investigation alleged the party had broken electoral law by arranging for a foreign donor to pay for political polling.
Photo: NBC
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WASHINGTON: Britain's populist Reform UK said two senior aides to leader Nigel Farage stepped down on Friday after an undercover investigation alleged the party had broken electoral law by arranging for a foreign donor to pay for political polling.
Reform denied any wrongdoing and said it had been the victim of a hoax perpetrated by climate activists.
The governing Labour Party wrote to the police asking them to investigate possible criminal offences, including an alleged proposal to channel a larger overseas donation through a UK intermediary.
The investigation, broadcast by public British broadcaster Channel 4 just as Reform's annual conference opened to the public, said two senior figures in Reform had arranged for a U.S. company to pay more than £30,000 ($40,000) for three opinion polls commissioned by the party.
Such an arrangement could breach British laws on political funding, which ban foreign donations.
Posing as wealthy donors from the United States with British connections, the undercover team from an investigative group called Verbatim said it spent a year speaking to top officials in Reform about possible donations, culminating in a lunch with Farage.
Channel 4 said Verbatim was an independent organisation founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting, but that it had verified their findings, which included covertly filmed footage of meetings.
This Bay News report is based on originating coverage from NBC.