Nigel Farage said he expected Reform UK to face a string of further investigations after a dispute over party finances cast a shadow over its conference.
Speaking on the final day of the party’s gathering in Birmingham, Mr Farage again rejected allegations that Reform had broken the law. His defence followed a Channel 4 News report in which senior party figures were recorded discussing ways to conceal donations originating overseas.
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Taking money from a foreign company — including support provided in kind, such as polling — could amount to a criminal offence. The claims have been referred to police.
In an interview with ITV, Mr Farage said he was certain Reform had received no unlawful donations. He also dismissed allegations from his long-standing aide Dan Jukes that the party had previously obscured the source of donations, describing the comments as “loose pub talk”.
“You come back and see me in six months, there’ll be five more investigations. It won’t end,” he said.
Mr Farage blamed the political establishment for the scrutiny, saying: “They are not going to give us a free ride. They will do anything they can. I expect many more investigations over the course of the next few months, I have no doubt about it.”
However, speaking to GB News, he conceded that the allegations could unsettle some voters. “There’ll be some people in the middle out there who aren’t quite sure (about Reform), that would be worried by some of these allegations,” he said.
James Orr (L) and Dan Jukes stood down from Reform pending an internal investigation
The controversy surrounding the Channel 4 report has dominated Reform’s annual conference, which was intended to showcase the party’s programme for its first 100 days in government.
The footage formed part of an investigation by the undercover group Verbatim. Its investigators posed as an American donor and his son, who had paid for polling allegedly commissioned by Reform and were looking for ways to direct funds to the party.
The Liberal Democrats have separately called on Parliament’s standards watchdog to examine the allegations.
Mr Jukes, who denies wrongdoing, and James Orr, Reform’s head of policy, stepped aside while the party investigates their appearance in the footage.
On Friday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice declined to say whether either man could return, telling the BBC that their future would depend on the internal inquiry.
By Saturday, however, Mr Jenrick told Times Radio that both men had been “permanently suspended from their roles”.
The dispute has added to a challenging period for Mr Farage, whose poll ratings have declined amid questions about Reform’s finances and a Clacton by-election that other parties chose to boycott.
During his ITV interview, Mr Farage said he had not considered stepping down as leader, although he acknowledged that members of his family had urged him to “walk away”.
“I have had, I’ll be honest, you know when your own family start to turn on you because of what you do, some very thoughtful moments. Very, very thoughtful moments,” he said.
Asked whether Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf might succeed him, Mr Farage replied: “If there’s thousands of people out there would prefer Zia or someone else to me, do you know what? I’d recognise that.”
Mr Farage was due to deliver the closing speech at the three-day conference on Saturday afternoon, following presentations from senior party figures on their plans for a future Reform government.
Reform UK economic spokesman Robert Jenrick promised to raise the income tax personal allowance to £15,000
Earlier on Saturday, the party’s economic spokesman Robert Jenrick pledged to increase the income tax personal allowance to £15,000 within 100 days of taking office, a move Reform said would cut taxes for 40 million workers.
The allowance has remained at £12,570 since 2021 and is currently scheduled to stay at that level until 2031.
Reform said its proposal would save the average taxpayer £500 a year and remove 2.9 million people from income tax altogether. The policy would cost £17.7 billion in its first year, increasing to £21 billion after five years.
In his conference address, Mr Farage said he would declare a national emergency and require Parliament to sit around the clock to push through the party’s priorities.
His speech began an hour late after what was described as a “security alert” and was interrupted by hecklers, who were escorted from the venue.
West Midlands Police has appealed for one of the protesters to come forward after footage appeared to show audience members pulling her hair and grabbing her head.
Asked by ITV about the response to the hecklers, Mr Farage said: “This is just all so one-sided. It is ridiculous. There were people there trying to disrupt our conference. We always have them. We always have them, and we remove them quickly and expeditiously.”
