Jordan Bardella backs embattled far-right British ally Nigel Farage
The annual conference of the far-right Reform UK party was overshadowed on Friday in Birmingham by revelations of attempts to circumvent party funding laws. As guest of honor, the president of the French far-right Rassemblement National signed a 'memorandum of understanding' with Farage to combat illegal immigration.
Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Reform party, claimed he was unaware of a donation scandal during a conversation where senior aides appeared to discuss the arrangement of donations, according to a report by CBS News and BBC News. The undercover investigation involved a journalist posing as a wealthy American's son who wanted to donate to the party.
Farage said he was focused on campaigning at the time and was not aware of the details of the conversation. He added that the money could have come from all over the world, and that he knows the electoral and donation laws better than anyone. Two aides, who had never been involved in fundraising before, were filmed participating in the conversation and have since left their positions pending the outcome of an internal party probe.
Farage insisted that the party had not taken any dodgy money and that the incident was a case of entrapment.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
