Nigel Farage latest: Reform leader battles to contain donations scandal fallout as probe expected to widen

The Times reports that these allegations are expected to widen the police investigation which is examining donations worth £500,000 made to the party.

Mr Tice has said the money was paid to his company by Reform donor Fiona Cottrell – a significant donor to Reform UK and mother of a convicted fraudster with close links to Nigel Farage.

The allegations have caused splits at the top of the party. Senior Reform figures have given conflicting accounts of whether the suspensions are permanent, or temporary and pending an investigation.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, has distanced himself from the two suspended men, telling reporters of the investigation: “It’s just not something I am personally involved in.”

Reform UK’s deputy leader on Friday declined to rule out party advisers Dan Jukes and James Orr returning after an internal investigation.

Asked whether the pair could return, Richard Tice told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Let’s wait and see what the investigation says.”

Challenged over comments by Reform chairman Lee Anderson saying Mr Jukes and Mr Orr would not return, he added: “It’s not actually, in the nicest possible way, for any individual to make that determination until the investigation (finishes).”

Two senior Reform UK aides are permanently suspended from their roles, Robert Jenrick has said, after undercover journalism appeared to show them discussing how to disguise foreign donations.

Senior Reform figures have given conflicting accounts of whether James Orr and Dan Jukes’ suspension is permanent, or temporary and pending an investigation.

Mr Jenrick told Times Radio: “They have been permanently suspended. There is obviously due process, and so there is going to be an investigation, and we want to learn all the facts, give them obviously a right of reply.

“But Nigel (Farage) has acted very swiftly, as soon as he saw the footage. Some of their comments, it’s fair to say, were very disappointing and inappropriate.”

Pressed on the nature of the suspension, Mr Jenrick said: “Well, they have left the conference. They’ve been suspended from their roles.”

Mr Jenrick was later asked whether he still believed leaving the Conservatives for Reform was worth it after the scrutiny his new party had faced in recent months, and told the broadcaster it was “one of the best decisions that I have ever made”.

Nigel Farage sought to defend himself over allegations Reform had broken laws on political donations as he addressed his party conference.

In a speech delayed by a “security alert” and interrupted four times by hecklers, Mr Farage vowed not to be “distracted” from his agenda by what he called a “highly co-ordinated campaign of attacks”.

The annual gathering at Birmingham’s NEC has been overshadowed by yet more allegations about party funding after Channel 4 broadcast footage that appeared to show senior Reform figures discussing how to disguise donations from foreign donors.

The footage was part of an investigation by undercover group Verbatim, who posed as an American donor and his son who had paid for polling allegedly commissioned by Reform and were seeking to channel money to Reform.

Accepting donations from a foreign company, including donations in kind such as polling, could constitute a criminal offence, and the party has been reported to the police.

Nigel Farage called Andy Burnham the “Messiah without a mandate”, as he predicts a General Election will take place next Spring.

The Reform UK leader blasted the Tories for their “failed” 14 years in government and highlighted that Andy Burnham “wants 10 more”.

He said his party will make changes within the first 100 days and if any of his ministers don’t meet their pledges within that timeframe, “they will be sacked”.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has claimed that the allegations broadcast by Channel 4 that his party breached political donation rules have been made because “they’re scared of us”.

Addressing Reform delegates at his party conference in Birmingham, he said: “Reform has broken no law. We take compliance extremely seriously.“And ask yourself, why is all of this happening? Anyone got a clue why it’s happening? Because they’re scared of us. That’s why it’s happening.

“And in my case, I’ve broken no laws, abused no public money. I haven’t even got a motorhome, believe you me.

“I’m accused of non-declaration of a personal gift, a personal gift that might just keep me alive.

“But I couldn’t wait forever. I couldn’t wait for six months or a year for this committee to decide. So I said, ‘Right. I tell you what, the voters of Clacton, they can be my judge.’ And the people of Clacton have decided with an emphatic win.”

Nigel Farage vowed not to be “distracted” by “a highly co-ordinated campaign of attacks”.

He told the Reform UK party conference: “We have been the subject of a highly co-ordinated campaign of attacks.

“In a sense, it’s not surprising. If you think about it, two parties have dominated British politics for over 100 years.

“And around them is a whole ecosystem of membership of the House of Lords, the issuance of government contracts, heads of quangos, and so much else, a whole ecosystem around the century-old two-party system.

“And we come along and threaten that. They were never going to come out with a tray of gin and tonics, I promise you.“But I promise you, we will not be distracted by any of this. We are absolutely determined in what we’re doing.”

The debacle, which played out on Channel 4 last night, saw Nigel Farage and two of his closest aides caught on video seemingly celebrating a potentially illegal foreign donation after a sting operation exposed the sheer dysfunction within Reform UK.

Putting aside any legal questions, which will now be investigated by the police, the private reaction from one close ally to what had happened was to bemoan the “sheer stupidity and arrogance” of it as well as a “complete disregard for morality and ethics”.