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Channel 4 sting targets James Orr over Reform UK funding

politicsSep 3, 2026968,454

Undercover footage aired by Channel 4 and released by Verbatim Investigations alleges Reform UK head of policy James Orr discussed dodgy fundraising and donor strategies for the party. The sting, which also filmed Nigel Farage and chief of staff Dan Jukes, includes Orr saying "we could easily get away with it" about hiding funding and calling the Electoral Commission "dumb and ineffective," according to the footage. Verbatim's 37-minute exposé says the year-long investigation caught senior Reform figures courting foreign donations and arranging opinion polling paid for by a foreign donor. Channel 4 asked Farage, Jukes and Orr for a response; the broadcaster says the allegations are denied in full and the trio did not comment. Byline Times and the Financial Times have published background pieces on Orr, noting he is an associate professor of divinity at Cambridge and the party's chief fundraiser. Reform UK has been reported to the Metropolitan Police over claims it broke electoral law related to foreign-funded polling, a development raised in commentary about the sting. The footage has prompted renewed scrutiny of Orr's role connecting donors to Reform and calls for Cambridge and law-enforcement attention to the allegations.

Peter Jukes
@peterjukes.bsky.social

Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI

72245d ago
Adam Bienkov
@adambienkov.bsky.social

The full report is utterly damning. Farage's policy chief James Orr boasts that they can "easily get away with it" because the Electoral Commission are so "dumb and ineffective" youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI?...

28645d ago
3 sources