LONDON (AP) — British police said Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that anti-immigration party Reform UK broke rules barring foreign donations.
Last week, Channel 4 broadcast an undercover investigation in which two senior Reform UK officials appeared to discuss ways money from an American financier could be channeled through his U.K.-based son to get around the rules.
U.K. electoral law says parties can only accept donations from British voters or U.K.-registered businesses.
The Metropolitan Police said that after the broadcast, the force “received a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party.
“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offenses requiring investigation,” it said.
Reform UK said it “denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation.”
The party suspended Dan Jukes, a longtime adviser to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and party policy chief James Orr, after the documentary was aired. But Farage denied that there was any breach of electoral law.
The program showed two men purporting to be a U.S. financier and his U.K.-based son discussing with Jukes, in the presence of Farage, how 500,000 pounds ($675,000) could be donated to the party through the son. The “son” was actually a reporter from investigative group Verbatim, and the “father” an actor.
In separate footage, Orr, a Cambridge University theologian, appeared to discuss getting the U.S. donor to pay for opinion polls commissioned by Reform UK.
In a speech to the party’s conference on Friday, Farage insisted Reform UK hadn't broken any rules or accepted “dodgy money.” He accused “foreign-funded hard-left activists” of being behind what he called “entrapment.” Verbatim is an offshoot of the Center for Climate Reporting, a nonprofit investigative group that says it's funded by grants and donations.
Reform UK was facing questions about its funding even before the broadcast. Farage is being investigated by Parliament’s standards watchdog over an undeclared 5 million-pound ($6.7 million) gift he received from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire in 2024.
Police said Wednesday that the potential offenses raised by the TV program “are similar in nature to matters already under investigation by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team relating to donations made to the same political party. As a result, these matters will form part of that ongoing investigation.”
Founded in 2018 as the Brexit Party to push for a hard break from the European Union, Reform UK has grown rapidly in membership and support since changing its name in 2021 and honing its anti-establishment, anti-immigration message.
Though it holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, it has often led opinion polls and was the big winner in local elections in May, a result that helped spur a panicky Labour Party to replace then-leader Keir Starmer with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
In July, Farage quit his House of Commons seat in protest of the parliamentary standards investigation, saying he would run for reelection and let voters be his judge. He easily won the August election, which was dismissed as a stunt by his critics and boycotted by all the other main parties.
Reform Party Leader Nigel Farage points as he speaks during the Reform party's annual conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage drinks water, during the Reform party's annual conference, in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The two NASA astronauts who led the Artemis II moonshot earlier this year are stepping away from spaceflight.
NASA announced Wednesday that Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover will no longer serve as active astronauts but will continue to support the moon exploration program as emeritus astronauts.
Glover has taken a leadership job at his alma mater, California Polytechnic State University, while Wiseman’s future plans weren't disclosed. They flew around the moon in April with two other astronauts, setting a new distance record for humanity.
Artemis II’s Jeremy Hansen retired from the Canadian Space Agency in July. That leaves Christina Koch as the only crew member still on the active astronaut rolls.
As emeritus astronauts, Wiseman and Glover will donate their time to train and mentor NASA workers and share their knowledge for future moon missions. It's a new approach to taking advantage of expertise, according to the space agency.
"Together, they took on one of the most challenging missions in human spaceflight and helped return America to the lunar environment," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. "I’m grateful they will continue sharing what they learned."
Cal Poly said Glover will help shape long-term strategies and inspire students to study science and engineering. His new job in San Luis Obispo took effect Sept. 1, the same day he retired from the Navy.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Glover stressed “this is not a leaving ... for me, this is opening the aperture, not closing it down.”
"I want to keep talking about how faith and science work together in my life," Glover said. “That’s not NASA’s mission, but I can still help NASA from the sidelines.”
Instead of waiting to command a moon-landing mission, Glover said he decided to put spaceflight behind in order to focus his efforts on young people and spend more time with his wife and four daughters. Three of his daughters are currently enrolled at Cal Poly. The oldest has already graduated from there.
Wiseman's status change will take effect this month. Chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 2009, the retired Navy captain spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station in 2014, later becoming the space agency's chief astronaut.
After graduating from Cal Poly in 1999, Glover became a Navy test pilot before NASA picked him to be an astronaut in 2013. He served as pilot on SpaceX's second crew flight for NASA, a nearly six-month mission to the space station in 2020 and 2021.
Glover's eloquence stood out while flying to and from the moon.
Earth is an oasis in “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as one, he observed from space. “This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together.”
Wiseman also tugged at heartstrings as he and his crew asked for permission to name one of the moon's craters after his late wife Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.
Last month, the Artemis II crew received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump during a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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FILE - NASA astronaut Victor Glover, a member of the NASA's Artemis II crew, speaks during a news conference on April 16, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)
FILE - Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, left, and Commander Reid Wiseman, right, participate in a Congressional Space Medal of Honor ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Aug. 28, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren, file)
