Lee Anderson in car crash interview following undercover investigation into Reform

Anderson was sent out to bat for Reform on Friday morning, and put in a classic performance.

On Thursday, Channel 4 News broadcast an investigation by journalist group Verbatim which showed how Reform UK figures were willing to find ways to bend the law on party funding to secure foreign investment.

In the wake of the report, a number of political parties and figures have called on Reform and Farage to face a criminal investigation.

Following the report’s broadcast, Farage’s senior aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr have both stood down pending the outcome of the internal probe.

Reform insist the party has done nothing wrong, whilst Farage has claimed his party has been the victim of “entrapment”.

On Friday morning, it was Lee Anderson who was sent out to bat for Reform on the media rounds and deal with the myriad of questions about the allegations unearthed in the report.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Anderson was questioned by presenters Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh about the resignations from Reform and the party’s investigation into the matter.

Anderson initially said he was unable to answer questions on the allegations “because Reform has started a full internal investigation.”

However, when he was then asked who was leading the internal inquiry, Anderson said he did not know “because it hasn’t started yet.”

30p Lee then tried to use the time of day as an excuse, telling Garrway “it’s twenty past seven in the morning” and that he had been up since half five.

Garraway pointed out that she had been up much earlier at half two and was also ‘very keen’ to get answers.

Anderson also stated on Friday morning that there was “no chance” of Jukes and Orr returning to Reform UK.

The investigation

The operation saw Louis Wilson from Verbatim go undercover, posing as the UK-based son of a wealthy American businessman wanting to donate to Reform UK.

The investigation focused on Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage’s Chief of Staff, and James Orr, Reform’s head of policy.

Footage shows Wilson meeting with the two men who openly admitted on camera ways to circumvent the law.

Jukes was captured saying: “Those little clandestine projects are so valuable”.

While Orr said: “The reality is we could easily get away with it”.

The investigation pivoted around a supposedly independent polls which ending up getting prominent media coverages, including on the front page of the Telegraph. The polls had in fact been commissioned by Reform and funded with money from the undercover journalists posing as the wealthy American businessman and his son.

The public was not told that Reform UK had commissioned the polls and would be arranging for an “off the book” backer to fund them with the three polls costing £32,500 all in.

In another undercover meeting with Orr, the Reform man told Wilson, “I won’t breathe a word of this to anybody,” after saying he knew a way of getting an invoice to him.

In the report, Wilson says he then paid £18,000 from an American bank account.

Full video on investigation on Channel 4 News:

He then went on to say that he was curious to know if Farage knew about the arrangement.

The report cuts to undercover footage of Orr saying that “Nigel doesn’t know and won’t know, it’s the kind of thing he’d rather not know about.”

The climax to the report comes as Wilson sits down with Farage himself and an actor posing as his American businessman father as they discuss the donation.

After the actor says he was “thrilled to pick up the tab” for the commissioned polls, Farage responds, “yes, that was great”.

He added: “It worked, boom. For in fact a relatively modest investment. Bang for buck.”

The report then moves on to Wilson saying he had spoken to Jukes and Orr about an “illicit” donation of £500,000 to the party.

At the dinner table, it’s explained to Farage that his ‘dad’ would send the money to Wilson who would act as the registered donor in the UK.

An Instagram post by Verbatim says that they understand Jukes and Orr deny the allegations in full.

Meanwhile The Telegraph said it believed it had been “misled” and that it was reviewing its relationship with the polling company.

Speaking to Channel 4, Bob Posner, a lawyer and former Chief Executive of the UK Electoral Commission, said there should now be a criminal investigation as “serious criminal offences” may have been committed.