James Orr, then Reform UK's head of policy and a Cambridge professor, raised legal concerns about major donations from billionaire backers Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo three months before the party received £72m from them, according to undercover footage obtained by investigative reporting group Verbatim.
The Guardian reported the footage showed Orr discussing potential difficulties around whether future donations from Harborne and Delo would comply with a proposed new foreign donors cap. The timing of his concerns relative to the subsequent donations raises questions about the party's awareness of potential legal obstacles before accepting the money.
Reform UK has proposed new restrictions on foreign donors as part of its policy platform. Orr's comments, captured by Verbatim, suggest at least one senior party official had doubts about whether contributions from Harborne and Delo would meet those thresholds under the rules the party itself advocated for.
The £72m donation represents one of the largest political contributions in recent British political history. Both Harborne and Delo are British-born billionaires with business interests abroad, which could trigger questions under foreign donation rules depending on how residency, domicile and beneficial ownership are defined.
The Guardian described this reporting as exclusive, and the admission came via undercover footage rather than a public statement from Orr or the party.