Nigel Farage suspends Reform UK officials over funding rule breach claims

Reform UK, a British anti-immigration party, suspended two senior officials on Friday after undercover footage showed them discussing potential foreign funding, which could breach U.K. electoral law. Leader Nigel Farage dismissed the conversations as "loose pub talk" while the party launched an internal investigation. The suspended officials, longtime adviser Dan Jukes and policy chief James Orr, were filmed by broadcaster Channel 4 and investigative group Verbatim discussing how a 500,000 pound ($675,000) donation from a purported U.S. financier could be channeled to the party. U.K. law only permits donations from British voters or U.K.-registered businesses. The scandal overshadowed Reform UK's annual conference in Birmingham, where Farage denied any wrongdoing and accused "foreign-funded hard-left activists" of entrapment. The Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have urged police to investigate, while the Electoral Commission said it was considering the information.