U.K. police open criminal investigation into Farage’s Reform UK party

U.K. police open criminal investigation into Farage’s Reform UK party JILL LAWLESS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO Open this photo in gallery: Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage at the party's annual conference in Birmingham, England last Friday. THOMAS KRYCH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. British police said Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that anti-immigration party Reform UK broke rules barring foreign donations. Last week, Channel 4 broadcast an undercover investigation in which two senior Reform UK officials appeared to discuss ways money from an American financier could be channelled through his U.K.-based son to get around the rules. U.K. electoral law says parties can only accept donations from British voters or U.K.-registered businesses. The Metropolitan Police said that after the broadcast, the force “received a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party. “Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offences requiring investigation,” it said. Two senior aides to Reform UK’s Farage step down after allegations of electoral law breach Reform UK said it “denies any wrongdoing and will fully co-operate with the investigation.” The party suspended Dan Jukes, a longtime adviser to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and party policy chief James Orr, after the documentary was aired. But Farage denied that there was any breach of electoral law. The program showed two men purporting to be a U.S. financier and his U.K.-based son discussing with Jukes, in the presence of Farage, how £500,000 (US$675,000) could be donated to the party through the son. The “son” was actually a reporter from investigative group Verbatim, and the “father” an actor. In separate footage, Orr, a Cambridge University theologian, appeared to discuss getting the U.S. donor to pay for opinion polls commissioned by Reform UK. In a speech to the party’s conference on Friday, Farage insisted Reform UK hadn’t broken any rules or accepted “dodgy money.” He accused “foreign-funded hard-left activists” of being behind what he called “entrapment.” Verbatim is an offshoot of the Center for Climate Reporting, a non-profit investigative group that says it’s funded by grants and donations. Reform UK was…