Cambridge University investigates professor over Reform UK donation plot

Cambridge University is investigating the conduct of associate professor James Orr after footage showed him appearing to circumvent British electoral laws on foreign political donations. Orr, a suspended Reform UK policy head, allegedly orchestrated a plot for a foreign firm to pay for polling. Orr was filmed by investigative journalists from Verbatim, suggesting a US company pay for polling while claiming party leader Nigel Farage "doesn't know, won't know." He has denied wrongdoing, and he and senior aide Dan Jukes have stood down pending an internal party investigation. Orr, a religion professor and influential Reform figure dubbed the party's "philosopher king," has ties to the Maga movement, with US Vice-President JD Vance calling him his "intellectual mentor." Farage has distanced himself from the pair.