Reform UK has cleared two senior officials, Dan Jukes and James Orr, of breaking laws that prohibit foreign donations, despite an ongoing police investigation into the matter.
An internal inquiry, conducted by the party's legal secretary and general secretary, concluded that Nigel Farage's press adviser, Mr Jukes, and the head of policy, Mr Orr, had not breached funding regulations. The party published a 17-page report detailing its findings.
Police have been investigating potential offences under electoral law since early September, following a Channel 4 News broadcast of footage from undercover reporting group Verbatim. Mr Jukes and Mr Orr will remain suspended by Reform UK while the police inquiry is ongoing.
The internal report acknowledged the "foolish" way Mr Jukes and Mr Orr discussed donations with an overseas donor. However, it found that payments for polling were not donations to Reform UK, and there was no evidence Mr Orr or Mr Jukes knowingly facilitated an impermissible donation of £500,000, which was never handed over.
A Reform spokesperson stated that the internal investigation found no evidence of laws being broken and that the party considers Verbatim to have acted unlawfully, intending to take legal action.