Nigel Farage used a tense, stop-start appearance at Reform’s party conference to push back against claims the party broke political donation laws, insisting it would not be knocked off course by what he described as a concerted effort to undermine it.
His speech at Birmingham’s NEC, delayed by a “security alert” and disrupted four times by hecklers, was framed as a refusal to be “distracted” from Reform’s agenda amid what he called a “highly co-ordinated campaign of attacks”.
The annual gathering has been clouded by fresh questions over party funding after Channel 4 aired footage that appeared to show senior Reform figures discussing ways to disguise donations from foreign donors.
The material came from an investigation by undercover group Verbatim, whose operatives posed as an American donor and his son. The pair were presented as having paid for polling allegedly commissioned by Reform and were seeking to channel money to the party.
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Accepting donations from a foreign company — including donations in kind such as polling — could amount to a criminal offence, and Reform has been reported to the police.
The Liberal Democrats have also asked Parliament’s standards watchdog to look into the allegations.
Dan Jukes, a long-serving aide to Mr Farage, and James Orr, the party’s head of policy, have stood down while an internal investigation examines their appearance in the footage.
In one clip, Mr Jukes appeared to indicate that the party had previously concealed donations from overseas sources.
Mr Jukes has denied any wrongdoing, accusing the undercover reporters behind the broadcast of “entrapment”.
From the conference stage, Mr Farage repeatedly said Reform had broken no laws, brushing off Mr Jukes’s remarks as “loose pub talk” involving “a couple of boasts that simply were not true”.
James Orr (L) and Dan Jukes have stepped down from the Reform UK party
Addressing supporters, he argued Reform had become “the subject of a highly co-ordinated campaign of attacks” mounted by an “ecosystem” he said had been constructed around Labour and the Conservatives over the past century.
He told delegates: “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.”
Mr Farage continued: “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.”
Reform accused of breaching donation rules after undercover footage airs
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Earlier, deputy leader Richard Tice’s address was interrupted when Greenpeace UK unfurled a banner reading: “Collect £5 million, burn the planet.”
Mr Farage then faced his own interruptions, with protesters repeatedly heckling him over climate change.
Organisers have billed the conference as a platform to outline what Reform says would be its first 100 days in government.
In his speech, Mr Farage pledged to declare a “national emergency” and have Parliament sit around the clock to pass legislation aimed at delivering his priorities.
He said he would sweep away barriers to the party’s programme, warning he could appoint hundreds of new peers — or put the “current composition of the House of Lords” to a referendum — if the upper chamber blocked policies set out in Reform’s manifesto.
He also suggested the judiciary could prove another “obstacle” to his plans, and signalled an interest in changing the way senior judges are appointed.
Nigel Farage spoke alongside French National Rally president Jordan Bardella
The conference continues tomorrow, with Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick expected to spell out proposals to cut taxes on working people.
Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said: “Nigel Farage is up to his neck in sleaze and scandal. His desperate deflection tactics and complete failure to take personal responsibility for his actions has thrown his conference into chaos and his party into crisis.
“If Farage can’t get his own house in order, he simply can’t be trusted to address the issues the country faces.”
A spokesperson for the Green Party said: “Like a stopped clock, Nigel Farage is right: there is a national emergency. But it’s not the one he claims or would ever be willing to do anything about.
“This summer’s extreme heat and wildfires, and the prospect of flash floods to come, prove that the world, not just Britain, is facing a climate emergency and we need to act now.
“At the same time, the cost-of-living crisis is squeezing family finances more and more all while Reform laugh their way through their champagne breakfasts.”
Farage opens door for Napoleon III remains to be returned to France
Mr Farage also said he would be open to the remains of France’s first-ever president, Napoleon III, being returned from the UK to France.
Napoleon III served as president from 1848 to 1852, then ruled as emperor until 1870.
After France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, he went into exile in the UK. He died in 1873 in Chislehurst, Kent, and is buried at St Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough.
Mr Farage spoke alongside National Rally president Jordan Bardella, who also addressed the conference.
Napoleon III was French emperor between 1852 and 1870
Through a translator, Mr Bardella said: “President Macron’s visit along with the inauguration of the Bayeux Tapestry has demonstrated the possibility of cooperation between our countries, and I told (Mr Farage) that we wouldn’t be against the body of Napoleon III returning to France.”
Mr Farage replied: “Yes that’s the next big debate. Should the last French emperor and first president, should his body be returned to France. We’re going to have a proper debate about that too. There are many antique artefacts that I’m against giving away, but this one, do you know what? If they want him, I think they can have him actually. But there might be legal reasons why not.”
