Nigel Farage has conceded that an undercover investigation into Reform UK's handling of foreign donations "looks bad", while denying that his party ever breached electoral law by accepting overseas funding.

The Reform leader's comments appeared to soften his stance on the donations row engulfing his party, which has forced him onto the defensive after an undercover Channel 4 investigation filmed senior Reform figures apparently agreeing to accept a donation from a foreign benefactor via a middle man. Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, donations to UK registered parties are only permissible from acceptable sources — such as UK-registered voters and UK-based companies — and it falls to the party's registered treasurer to ensure the rules are followed, a point that has drawn attention given Farage's remark that he is "not a compliance officer".

"This looks bad, as does the sale of peerages, as does government contracts for donations," Farage told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg show. "We are not the first people to be involved in a row over donations." His reference to broader controversies over political funding reflects a long-running debate in UK politics, including past scrutiny of large donations to both the Conservative and Labour parties and periodic reviews of how peerages and honours are awarded to major donors.

Asked to categorically rule out that Reform had ever taken foreign money, he said: "I can […] never happened."

Farage: 'I wasn't listening'

Farage acknowledged that remarks made by his close aide Dan Jukes and head of policy James Orr were "injudicious at best". Both men have been suspended from the party pending an internal investigation.

In an excerpt from the BBC interview published earlier in the week, Farage claimed he "wasn't even listening" during a meeting that appeared at the centre of Channel 4's documentary.

Farage was filmed meeting journalists posing as a wealthy American Reform backer and his son, who told the party leader they had been in discussions about making a donation. Farage told the BBC he "of course" knew it is illegal for foreign firms to donate to UK political parties. In the investigation, the journalist posing as the donor's UK-based son tells Farage he would pay the money to Reform after receiving it from his father — the kind of intermediary arrangement that, if it occurred as filmed, would raise questions under the prohibition on foreign funding and the requirement that donors be permissible sources.

Farage told the BBC: "I am not a compliance officer. I was in the middle of canvassing in the Clacton byelection. I turn up. I frankly wasn't even listening.

"I was told there was a global family office based in London, so the money could have come from Singapore. The money could come from all over the world, you know. Income could have come from all over the world into a family office based in London. I know electoral law. I know donation law better than anybody."

Tories call for police investigation

Earlier in the week, the Reform leader had dismissed the comments made by Jukes and Orr in the documentary as "loose pub talk", as he sought to stop the row from overshadowing his party's conference in Birmingham.

Reform is facing pressure from across the political spectrum over the affair. On Sunday, Tory shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the party should be investigated by the police for a potential breach of political donation rules. Allegations of impermissible donations can be referred to the Electoral Commission, which has powers to investigate and fine parties, while police can pursue potential criminal offences under electoral law.

He told Times Radio: "Kemi [Badenoch] said [the investigation] warrants grounds for a police investigation, so that should take place.

"And as a leader, you cannot absolve yourself on matters that are so important. You can't just dismiss that when it comes to electoral funding."

Labour business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the Laura Kuenssberg show on Sunday: "We have rules in this country about how our democracy works and everyone has to stick to them.

"And if you're not willing to abide with them, if it's a law, it's a matter for the police. And clearly this goes absolutely to the top of Reform."

The row comes as Reform UK continues to poll strongly since the 2024 general election, where it won five seats and a substantial share of the national vote, and as the party positions itself as a contender at the next election — raising the stakes over how its finances and compliance are scrutinised.