Nigel Farage, in an interview with LBC, responded to an undercover report regarding an alleged Reform UK scheme to evade election donation regulations. He stated that Reform UK had not violated any laws but acknowledged that aides made comments that were inappropriate. Farage said, "The party has broken no laws. The party has not taken any dodgy money or anything like that whatsoever. However, it is a clear case of entrapment, and they worked at it for a very, very long time, and they got a couple of our contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said. And as a result of that, you know, they have been removed this morning. And yeah, you know, I’m not happy about it."
He rejected allegations that footage of him discussing a £500,000 donation with individuals posing as father-and-son donors indicated he was aware of a plan to bypass electoral law. Farage explained, "If you listen to what I said, I said, is this all above board? Is this all legal? I’ve been told it was a global family office based in London. And by the way, I was in the middle of a Clacton by-election. I turned up to see people. I knew nothing about them whatsoever. I meet people all the time."
Farage claimed that the three polls highlighted in the investigation were not commissioned by Reform UK, stating, "Whilst the poll benefited Reform, it wasn’t commissioned by Reform. It had nothing to do with Reform. It was an independent third party that did it. So that’s nothing. That’s nothing. Polls are funded by overseas people every single week. Every single week." However, the report includes footage suggesting that the polls were conducted at the request of Reform UK.
He also criticized Labour and the Conservative Party for their donation practices, asserting, "The Labour Party and the Conservative Party have been selling peerages for years in return for political donations. Political donations leading to big government contracts. In the world of political funding, all sorts of things have been done over decades that are wrong."
Farage noted that the party suspended two aides due to their comments, which he said "don’t look good," adding, "I promise you, the polling is not even an issue. Nothing. The party has not done anything wrong, but entrapped conversations don’t look good, and that’s why we’ve taken the action we have."