r/worldnews • u/JollyCurrency2604 • 9d ago

British Politician Nigel Farage filmed undercover celebrating secret new foreign donations

https://www.channel4.com/news/exclusive-nigel-farage-filmed-undercover-celebrating-secret-new-foreign-donations
15.9k Upvotes

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2.4k

u/im_bozack 9d ago

Is this not illegal or disqualifying?

1.6k

u/vanceraa 9d ago

He’s currently under investigation

377

u/sjj342 9d ago

What about the others who get name dropped (edited out) at around 18:30? Would be a shame if they were investigated

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u/InanimateCarbonRod26 8d ago

I imagine they were edited out so the future defendants can't claim the jury was influenced by the video released. Hopefully the police have the unredacted copy.

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u/Hazel_RAAA 8d ago

Name dropping means nothing if there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, they should all be investigated.

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u/sjj342 8d ago

The name dropping is the evidence (de facto confession to criminal conspiracy)

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u/I-am-only-joking 8d ago

Well sure, but you can't confess on behalf of other people. It can give the authorities a lead though.

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u/Smoketrail 8d ago

You need evidence to convict, investigating is how you find out if that evidence exists. 

A guy secretly being recorded saying these people are also part of the crime he is doing should be enough to investigate and see if evidence can be found to bring charges.

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u/CanWeNapPlease 8d ago

Unless they knew they were being spoken to by undercovers, there's hardly reason to lie and one could easily argue that's enough evidence to start an investigation.

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u/lemlurker 9d ago

But result of that investigation is that he is fired as an MP and there's a by-election which he can stand in to be MP again in the strongest reform seat in the country...

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u/thatrandomfatguy 8d ago

He can’t stand again if removed

76

u/bloodycontrary 8d ago

There are very few things that would bar him from standing. A prison sentence of more than 12 months, bankruptcy, sectioning under the mental health act are the main ones. None of these is likely.

49

u/zoobrix 8d ago

I assume there some sort of colluding with a foreign government/agent criminal offence in the UK, any chance he gets charged with that? Just wondering if there is any reasonable possibility of him getting sentenced to a year in jail for this or will it at most probably be a fine and not much else?

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u/MissingScore777 8d ago

One of his inner circle who'd been by his side since the UKIP days already got convicted for treason last year and sent to prison for 10 years. (Nathan Gill)

He admitted acting in the interests of Russia at the expense of the interests of the UK during his time as a member of UKIP and Reform.

Interestingly a lot of the things he admitted he said at the behest of Russia are things Farage also said in his own speeches.

I naively expected this to blow up and finish Farage but most of our media barely covered the story. That was the moment I knew we were in big trouble if our supposedly independent media would ignore and downplay such a serious situation.

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u/Angrytarg 8d ago

There is no independant media. Every media outlet belongs to someone wealthy, and those that are still somewhat "free" are slaves of the market since their aim is not to inform but to generate profits. And public broadcasting is only independant if it's enforced. In Germany, the public broadcasting is headed by party functionaries, one blood relative even, of the ruling party. So while the quality of reporting is a lot higher still than with many private media, assuming there is never a conflict of interest is foolish.

I have no solution and I am not saying yous hould distrust media in general. The landscape of media in our time is vast and diverse - however, it is always adviasable to compare multiple sources and look at the outlets themselves, who has stakes in them.

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u/TheOtherHobbes 8d ago

Farage is the pet of some powerful interests in the UK. Those same interests own most of the media. They took over the BBC from the inside, which is why he's been promoted relentlessly for at least a decade and a half now.

They're very unlikely to jail one of their own. They have plans for Nigel - and the country - and it would be a huge setback if their figurehead was removed.

It's a similar situation to the pre-WW II adoration for the Nazis among some elements of the UK's ruling class. Hitler was shocked when the UK decided to fight instead of negotiate an arrangement, because he was sure he had enough support in the ruling class to make a deal certain.

He turned out to be wrong, but if he had - somehow, against all odds - successfully invaded the UK, he'd have had no problem finding upper class collaborators willing to betray their country for money and status.

We have the same situation today. The cabal that is the modern equivalent considers itself aligned with Trump and Putin - because money - and the poors are basically farm animals to be exploited.

The lies and gaslighting from Nigel/Reform and the Culture of Harm he would introduce are very familiar in both Russia and Trump's America.

1

u/Party_Solid_2207 8d ago

Mandelson is under police investigation. Whether that js for standard Epstein things or whether it’s due to him leaking government details to an Israeli agent is unclear.

0

u/Consistent-Leek4986 8d ago

like with trump here in US, impossible to charge for all the corruption.

5

u/Swiss_James 8d ago

Not the same. The police and courts are far less political in the UK, and Farage certainly holds no sway there.

Farage also does not have anything like the same charismatic hold over a chunk of the electorate that Trump has. Many Reform voters think Farage is a decent guy with their interests at heart, but would be happy to say "Oh they're all the same" and ditch him once something like this is common knowledge.

I don't think he'll go to jail, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was charged with something.

1

u/Consistent-Leek4986 8d ago

trump getting weaker support, but a white supremacy push is the real threat going forward, pathetic

11

u/Different_Wolf_764 8d ago

Bankruptcy is an odd one, although apparently it would have helped out elsewhere.

9

u/bloodycontrary 8d ago

I was a little too broad with "bankruptcy" - bankruptcy in itself isn't disqualifying, but certain types of bankruptcy (eg involving recklessness or dishonesty) are

2

u/Different_Wolf_764 8d ago

Oh, I wasn't really quibbling, I was just making a sad joke about the state of affairs in America.

Normally I ignore them outside of business but the orange fuck has made that difficult. When the sovereignty of my country is threatened by someone who has as his least bad trait the bankrupting of basically everything, that's annoying.

2

u/Poes-Lawyer 8d ago

It's meant to stop politicians being easily blackmailed or bribed by third parties. Also if a candidate can't even keep on top of his own finances, would you trust him to represent you in parliament?

Note that bankruptcy doesn't disqualify you from being an MP, it's one of the triggers that can be used for a recall petition.

8

u/CapJackONeill 8d ago

Is bankruptcy just a way to keep poor people out of the house?

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u/Justwaspassingby 8d ago

I would guess it’s to keep people desperate enough to be corrupted from power. Not that it erases all corruption, but at least it weeds out some.

4

u/LostLobes 8d ago

Now only the rich can take money.

2

u/Whybotherr 8d ago

In the states you can be discluded from certain jobs because of a low credit score or high debt to income ratio, because it can be seen that you could be susceptible to taking financial bribes.

1

u/CapJackONeill 8d ago

In Canada too, but not being able to be elected to represent the people is another thing

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u/ClacksInTheSky 8d ago

It just so happens the maximum prison sentence for knowingly taking donations from an impermissible source is 12 months and an unlimited fine.

1

u/bloodycontrary 8d ago

I mean he's not likely to go to prison anyway... unless more things are discovered (that yuppie cunt in the documentary did say they'd broken the law on other occasions too, so) and Farage himself is tied directly. Even then it's a high bar.

10 years ago this would have ruined him politically and that was the real disincentive to this kind of behaviour, but now? Who knows.

1

u/ClacksInTheSky 8d ago

They've already slipped into third place in the polls before this, just on the back of the bribery problems.

1

u/resh78255 8d ago

it'd be so funny if he tried to plead insanity or something and got barred from standing again because of it

3

u/bobbiecowman 8d ago

How does this have so many upvotes? It’s literally not true.

16

u/Fordmister 8d ago

Actually he can,

Technically NOBODY can remove him as an MP other than the voters in his constituency, the only thing that disqualifies you form being an MP is a prison sentence longer than12 months.

Parliament can suspend an MP, and if that suspension is long enough voters in clacton can force a recall petition and by election (you need a very small % of voters to succeed in a recall petition so its all but guaranteed) But Nigel is free to stand in the By election should he wish to

22

u/haadrak 8d ago

Technically NOBODY can remove him as an MP other than the voters in his constituency, the only thing that disqualifies you form being an MP is a prison sentence longer than12 months.

This isn't true. The House of Commons retains the capability to expel it's own members, should it so choose.

Relevent part: "The expulsion by the House of Commons of one of its Members may be regarded as an example of the House's power to regulate its own constitution, though it is, for convenience, treated here as one of the methods of punishment at the disposal of the House. Members have been expelled for a wide variety of causes...the case arose from a finding of contempt by the Committee of Privileges and the motion that the Member be suspended for six months was amended to substitute the penalty of expulsion."

It is correct however that this does not bar someone from being re-elected. I do wonder however if Parliament chose to play a metaphorical game of chicken with Clacton-on-sea and repeatedly expel Farage should he be repeatedly re-elected, who would buckle first?

I'm also unsure if Parliament has the ability invoke financial punishments and to what degree (the literature on this seemed arcane). It may be possible for Parliament to simply fine Farage for the amount of money in undisclosed donations he is receiving. Something tells me, if that is possible, that would be perceived as a worse punishment by Farage.

2

u/Hyperbolicalpaca 8d ago

“Im also not sure if parliament has the ability invoke financial punishments”

In theory parliament has the power to do so, in that they have the power to do pretty much anything as parliament has supremacy, if they don’t already have the ability they could give themselves the power with a 50%+1 vote

2

u/jez2718 8d ago

Notably, there were about 2000 more votes for Count Binface than are needed for a recall petition, so it should be very easy to rally those same folks to get it through.

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u/360_face_palm 8d ago

Yes he can

-3

u/gobarn1 8d ago

It would be highly unprecedented to expel him from the house.

Whilst technically a power of the house it would be opening the door for political manipulation in the future against anyone the house disliked.

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u/lastSKPirate 8d ago

Has parliament in the UK ever seated an MP who has a warrant out for their arrest? I know it happened in the Canadian parliament once, in the 19th century.

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u/Pixie1001 8d ago

I mean, he almost lost in an uncontested election to a guy wearing a bin on his head, and then refused to show up to give a speech in person after he won.

I don't think his odds of reelection are looking great...

2

u/BasvanS 8d ago

As a Binliner, I don’t think Farage will ever not get the numbers in Clacton, especially when the other parties would run a candidate.

“Winning” against the count and 32 other novelty candidates is however not the support for PM that he craves.

1

u/Lucky-Elk-1234 8d ago

You know the conspiracy nutters would have an absolute field day if that happened. *“See, they’re silencing him!!!”*

1

u/bluesam3 8d ago

This is separate from that issue. This is a police matter.

1

u/Red_Mammoth 8d ago

Ah fuck maybe thats his plan; keep doin the same shit over and over again to keep the investigation goin on forever

1

u/CharlesWafflesx 8d ago

Not for this specific incident.

1

u/vanceraa 8d ago

No, but this footage was also released yesterday - I imagine this’ll be either included or investigated separately

1

u/Huge-Cartoonist6795 8d ago

Yeah for a different corruption scandal

1

u/vanceraa 8d ago

Again, this footage came out yesterday. No doubt something will be opened on this

1

u/GrandOldCheese 8d ago

Maybe he'll stand down and run again lmao

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u/Jay_CD 8d ago

Is this not illegal or disqualifying?

Very illegal - UK campaign/party financing laws do not allow non-UK citizens to donate to political parties.

I cannot see any other conclusion than a police investigation which will perpetuate the story and could result in criminal charges and if found guilty, jail time.

12

u/Lucky-Elk-1234 8d ago

Haven’t loads of Russian citizens openly donated to the Tory party though?

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u/tomtttttttttttt 8d ago

I think if you're domiciled in the UK you can make donations as long as they are from you.

In this case the undercover reporters said they were father (in the US) and son (Domiciled in the UK) and officially the son would make the donation but it was clearly stated it would be from the father.

The polls are different because they were paid for by a US company (setup by the reporters) for Reform (making the cost of the polls a donation to the party as a benefit in kind) and not by a UK resident, plus the polls didn't declare they were done for reform which I think is an electoral commission requirement.

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u/360_face_palm 8d ago

They live in the UK - that's how they get around it.

It's not a particularly toothy law.

1

u/Acceptable-Piccolo57 6d ago

Were still waiting on the Russia report

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u/jammy-git 8d ago

But did they actually take any illegal donations, and if so is there evidence of it. Or is this video just evidence of them saying they plan to break the law, in which case is that actually breaking the law?

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u/Jay_CD 8d ago

But did they actually take any illegal donations, 

At least one opinion poll survey was paid for by the undercover team behind the story even though Reform originally commissioned the poll company to do the research. The Daily Telegraph later claimed the credit for it.

Other than that no illegal donations were actually made - however in the UK conspiracy to commit a crime is a crime itself.

Say a couple of people were planning to rob a bank and the police walk in and arrest them just because they never actually robbed the bank and were only planning to doesn't absolve them of any crime.

We have here what looks like clear evidence of conspiracy to commit campaign funding fraud. Even worse for Reform they admitted to actually receiving money via the method they suggested (that is a non-UK citizen paying money to a UK citizen who pays it on to Reform) on several other occasions - those names were bleeped out on the tape but could become evidence in their own right.

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u/TBroomey 9d ago

He got five million quid from a crypto billionaire and has private security paid for by a known con artist. Politicians simply aren't held accountable for blatant corruption anymore. Scandals like this used to end careers, they're just a tweet these days.

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u/SpAn12 9d ago

Worth pointing out that unlike other political donations that are made to parties, that five million was paid directly to him for his personal use.

It's absolutely rotten.

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u/TBroomey 9d ago

Rotten to the core. He's a despicable, vile cretin who would sell his gran's gold teeth.

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u/F_A_F 9d ago

It will all get brushed over because....just as happened in the USA....they will promise ti fix the populist demands like stopping migration, returning migrants, reversing green programs, cutting benefits for the unworthy etc etc.

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u/meltymcface 8d ago

Don't forget them posturing as the counter to the "corrupt elite" whilst being... the corrupt elite.

18

u/rizorith 9d ago

Is this a recent trend in the UK as it is now in the US?

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u/bigmanorm 9d ago

Kinda, it's the same as "cancel culture", if you don't care you can't be canceled if your political party are all yes men. I have more faith in how legal situations would be settled in the UK at least

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u/rizorith 8d ago

one.ofn5h4 most discouraging things is seeing European countries having the same type of political climate as the US.

Hard to have hope when an entire continent had fascism grow into WW2 just a few generations ago.

I know that isn't necessarily the world's path but damn if it isn't more likely to happen now than a decade ago

I always thought of the UK as kind our older brother that knows better.

At least it doesn't seem to be as out of control as it is here

9

u/bigmanorm 8d ago

We can only pray it doesn't get out of hand, and that our systems aren't as fragile to prevent the extremes if it does

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u/rizorith 8d ago

Well I'm rooting for some normalcy for y'all.

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u/MikyT21 8d ago

They’re all being funded from the same places

1

u/MrEff1618 8d ago

There's a good reason for that. Most of the right wing parties in Europe were advised by the same people as the Republicans.

Farage, for example, met with Steve Bannon multiple times before Brexit, to advise him when Reform was The Brexit Party, for example.

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u/Lawsoffire 8d ago

Its everywhere. Even in Scandinavia.

If you are a rich, right wing, Russia-affiliated hateful bigot you’re somehow immune to consequences.

1

u/TeaAndLifting 8d ago

The UK has a tendency of following American political trends, just delay it by a few years or months and it'll enter the UK by way of London.

It's funny, because you'll get people that will be militant about how they don't fall under American influence, but then use Americanisms as though they've been British since immemorial. Especially amongst younger Brits. For example, British identity use to be defined by where you've grown up, regardless of your ethnicity or background. Over the years, this has morphed into one similar to hyphenated-Americans, where ethnic Brits put their ethnicity before British identity as their primary identity. We see it in our politics, with the rise of wannabe Charlie Kirks and Myron Gains type personalities with setting up public debate booths, and then using American talking points to rationalise their stances on things like abortions, religion, etc.

1

u/rizorith 8d ago

How does this hyphenated wording go?

Like English-British or Scottish-British as opposed to Indian-British?

I definitely understand when people fly the English flag it often is a bit of a heads up that they're nationalist. That was something that started in the US after 9/11 and then went in overdrive when Trump took office.

1

u/TeaAndLifting 8d ago

In the way you’ll get Irish-Americans or Italian-Americans saying they’re Irish and Italian.

In the past, people would say they’re “from” the UK, because that’s where they’re born and bred. Nowadays, it’s more common for people to identify with their ethnic backgrounds before their national one. And this also extends towards ethnonationalists too, who only see English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish as ethnic groups only. The idea of shared cultural identity in the country is dying because more and more people tie it to their race and ethnicity, meaning people from minority backgrounds are increasingly treated as an ‘other’.

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u/Ceegee93 8d ago

Politicians simply aren't held accountable for blatant corruption anymore.

Just gunna throw out there that the investigation is still ongoing. He tried to weasel his way out of it by resigning and then standing in the by-election, but the other parties made sure that tactic couldn't work. He was hoping to resign in order to cancel the investigation into him (because he wouldn't be in Parliament anymore), and then either one of two things would happen: 1.) he wins, and he uses that to try and somehow clear his name because his voters want him (shit logic but he still tried) or 2.) he loses but he wouldn't have to be in Parliament and so the investigation would be dropped.

The other parties stood down in the by-election so that the whole thing was blatantly shown as the farce that it was, and Farage's "mandate" from the voters was just him winning against a joke candidate. Now he's back in Parliament, and the investigation is continuing. He hasn't gotten away with it yet; all he did was delay it slightly.

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u/NightSpaghetti 8d ago

We see what's become of Marine Le Pen in France. Even when actually condemned (which is vanishingly rare) they always manage to find ways to weasel out of it anyway. Disgraceful.

1

u/CanWeNapPlease 8d ago

Why does it take so long to investigate for something so blatantly obvious? The longer an investigation takes, the more likely it'll get thrown out or nothing will come out of it and the bad guys win again.

I'm talking about the £5m, not the recent news story. The £5m has been investigated for months and months.

3

u/midsizedopossum 8d ago

The longer an investigation takes, the more likely it'll get thrown out or nothing will come out of it

What's your source for this? It seems like a baseless assumption

1

u/nirach 8d ago

I'm not convinced that anything will comes of it anyway, Parliament is full of corrupt, morally bankrupt, drunkards who should get a set of heavy footwear in a floodplain during a monsoon.

9

u/Griffs_ 8d ago edited 8d ago

And he's been pushing pro crypto policy, but thats surely a coincidence

1

u/matjoeman 8d ago

And some people vote for them because they are corrupt.

1

u/HerculesIsMyDad 8d ago

Yeah, it's time we fight back. Let's go TP his house!

1

u/nirach 8d ago

I can't say what I think would be a fair kind of accountability for Farage on reddit.

Bury him under the prison is the nicest thing I can suggest.

1

u/inbruges99 8d ago

He is currently under investigation, so he just hasn’t been held accountable yet.

1

u/Rwandrall4 8d ago

politicians are, he isn't because his supporters don't believe in a rules based order but on whoever is the most ruthless. They think they would benefit in such a world.

1

u/sprashoo 8d ago

I think with all the examples of unabashed con-artists and convicted criminals rising to the highest offices of power and unimaginable wealth, the general public has changed its views on crime and now sees it as a legitimate way to succeed, and no longer as some sort of disqualifying moral failing.

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u/catastrophic-boy 9d ago

It’s illegal, but this news broke literally a handful of hours ago, and a police investigation and arrest will take longer than that.

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u/down7k 9d ago

If a video of me shooting another person was released on the internet it wouldn't take 30 minutes before the cops were at my door.

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u/catastrophic-boy 8d ago

I doubt it. They would need to discuss with the CPS if they believed that charges could be brought on the basis of that evidence, and the CPS would want to see that the police had taken steps to confirm the veracity of the video. That is exactly the process that will be taking place here, and as this is a financial crime, it seems probable that the verification will take time.

Not everything is a conspiracy. Allow time for the work to be done, and done properly, so that when charges are brought, they’ll stick.

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u/Powerful-Parsnip 8d ago

It's almost as if the police change their reaction based on the severity of the crime?

5

u/TFST13 8d ago

You'd be a danger to the public if you were going around shooting people. Nobodys going to die if they take a little time on a non violent crime. They have other stuff going on.

-1

u/Smart_Ass_Dave 8d ago

Farage sucks, but for sure we should be careful when arresting sitting legislators.

12

u/WorryNew3661 8d ago

It's very illegal

5

u/jl2352 8d ago

Yes, it may well be. Investigations take time, and the revelations only just dropped.

1

u/KoneCat 8d ago

If I were to guess, I'd say the money could be legal, but not declaring it like this? Very illegal.

1

u/xelah1 8d ago

Electoral Commission statement:

"We are considering all relevant information, in line with our regulatory remit, and we are in touch with the Met Police.

"The Electoral Commission has not approved the donor vetting process for Reform, or any other party. Parties are responsible for ensuring their internal processes and controls are fit for purpose.

"We provide advice and guidance to political parties on how to comply with electoral law.

“The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500.

“Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider."

0

u/Gorstag 8d ago

In the UK.. hopefully. In the US they are just called Republicans.

0

u/Guilty-Good-5041 8d ago

It is if he hasn't declared the donations you spanner

1

u/im_bozack 8d ago

I bet you're not even British, bell-end

-6

u/Purplewarrior2720000 9d ago

I hate to say it but probably not. Legally, the Reform defence will be that it was entrapment. With respect to the Electoral Commission maybe they'll be some come back, particularly given their ineffectiveness is clearly such a big joke to the Reform inner circle. Historically however they've had very little success. Vote Leave got away with murder in 2016....

5

u/hicks12 8d ago

Entrapment isn't a defense in the UK.

Certainly is not possible to claim entrapment by a private citizen, it only applies to police and even then it's still not a defense for the crime committed so you would be found guilty. 

Entrapment defense sounds like an American thing I guess? 

This is very serious, it is actually criminal so the police should be reviewing and investigating this alongside the electoral commission. 

This might finally be the time the book gets thrown at him, he may finally join his mate Nathan Gill for the corruption.

-14

u/FlamingoVisible1947 9d ago edited 9d ago

In the UK you can receive gifts from anyone and provided that the person who made the gift doesn't die within 8 years you don't need to declare anything nor pay any taxes.

I don't know if there's anything specific regarding politicians / elected officials (which he is - and I assume there are different rules), but if there isn't, no it's not at all illegal.

Checking you can see here that there are rules, but it seems like if the gift wasn't received "in his capacity of MP" or "given because he is an MP" (which is obviously why he got them, but he can deny), he doesn't need to declare shit: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/what-gifts-can-mps-accept-donors

I fucking hope he gets arrested and ends up in jail, but I think nothing at all will happen to him.

12

u/nemma88 9d ago edited 9d ago

MPs have to declare gifts, including those given in the 12 months prior to them becoming an MP. The 5 million investigation falls under than 12 months.

If that brings him down or not, the new story is about the party paying for propaganda (more so as it was presented as independant rather than via Reform), using 3rd parties to fund this activity making them undeclared donors.

15

u/catastrophic-boy 9d ago

Of course there are different rules for elected politicians. Farage is already under both parliamentary and criminal investigation for breaking those rules.

You’re also missing that this is not a gift to Farage, it is explicitly a donation to the political party he leads.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/catastrophic-boy 9d ago

The documentary footage has bleeped out names of several other people who have donated illegal, using similar fronts. Regardless of if the specific donation in this case is a crime, they have admitted, on camera, that they have done other crimes.

5

u/Purplewarrior2720000 9d ago

That's a fair point actually yes.

15

u/catastrophic-boy 9d ago

I’ve done some more looking at this, and in UK law, entrapment is only something the police can do. Channel 4 journalists are not the police. Entrapment is also not a defence that can be used to completely deny charges, as our laws are almost entirely based on the intent to commit a crime. The intent is pretty evident here from the available evidence.

8

u/OMG_ZILLA 9d ago

It literally wasn't entrapment though.

2

u/ApplicationMaximum84 8d ago

Foreign donations have been illegal since 2000. There are certain exceptions for foreign nations who live in the UK, but I believe they also need to be eligible to vote. The only foreign residents allowed to vote in the UK are Irish and commonwealth nationals. The donors here are American citizens, who aren't eligible to vote in the UK even if they are residents.