Channel 4 undercover re Farage

Reform is now owned by foreign donors.

Returning Harborne's £5 million won't help Farage. AFAIK it wasn't against the rules for Farage to receive £5 million from Harborne.

Farage's problem is that he didn't declare it. That's the bit he may be found in breach of the rules for, potentially triggering a second by-election.

Farage has a further problem. His secrecy about the £5 million has raised questions about why he felt the need to hide it.

Harborne could just have given the money openly – even made a press announcement and big ta-da like Delo has. So why didn't he?

@Warmlight1

So far, those who were attacked at the Reform Party conference have not come forward. Any ideas what that might be?

The donation made by Ben Delo was to the Reform party, not to those in the audience.

Delo, a billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls, pardoned by Donald Trump.

Returning the £5m will not stop the investigation

What does Delo want in return?

@pointythings

People are allowed to choose for themselves who they support. MN has a long history of being anti Brexit, Farage and now Reform, but it does not make support for any of those illegal.

Now that Reform has received a £36 million donation, should they not just return the £5 million received from Harborne?

Is he perhaps panicking about something?
Also - I guess they might need the money in legal fees.

Why is it trolling? It's just another crappy millionaire giving money to a crappy party who are on the way down. And in the light of the conference assault, it says a lot about this guy that he's giving them money.

Yes, what an incredible donation? Makes Jukes and Orr's grubbing around for relative peanuts look even sillier. Shows Reform comes from the same stable as Trump to everyone - good timing!

Top trolling by Ben Delo. £36 million donation to Reform. He was initially thinking of £1 million per month, but decided to pay up front.

This was to avoid the total amount being blocked if government changes law to limit the amount of donations that can be made.

That C4 Dispatches on Tommy Robinson is absolutely horrifying.

I was expecting it to be a dry financial investigation.

It's anything but.

To show that if you're considered to the right enough you're in. Tammy Peterson, Catholic convert and wife of Jordan, does a series of podcasts about faith. Luminaries include Rev Helen Orr on What Girls Want, and Tommy Robinson explains how his Christian faith will help save the UK ....

I can think of one place it’s gone…

Or maybe that’s two.

And tonight's Channel 4 Dispatches is Tommy Robinson: Where's the money?

Results of a year-long investigation into the finances of Mr Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Heckling is annoying, calling a stop is to it is fine, assaulting someone for it is not.

Reform is always going on about Free Speech but they don't seem to like it.

@DuncinToffee

you are sayimg that heckling shouldn't happen

I don't think it should happen based on the logic stated by both Fiona Bruce and Anna Soubry, but there is no way of preventing it in advance. Particularly when there is a live speaker and audience.

MPs seem to be the worst offenders from what I have seen from the debates in Parliament. Same on QT. In almost every episode, the presenter has to call a stop.

Many thanks, @SmallDFartyCarNRG

Just to confirm, you are sayimg that heckling shouldn't happen @EEexpat ?

I have never understood why, on radio and TV, the sound producers don't just mute the other parties when they have time set for their response? It can't be too hard to mute anyone who isn't meant to be talking - they'd soon realise they aren't getting anywhere. Everyone in the room would probably have to wear noise cancelling headphones though, so they can just hear the presenter.

@DuncinToffee

UK definition of heckle is:

interrupt (a performer or public speaker) with mocking, abusive or humorous comments.

The BBC QT host, Fiona Bruce, has to stop regularly as if everyone talks at the same time, nobody can hear the answers. Anna Soubry made a similar comment on QT that people should be allowed to speak without being shouted down otherwise a sensible debate is not possible.

On that logic, I would say heckling shouldn’t happen. However, it does all the time.

Latest from West Midlands police is that none of the people who were attacked have come forward. Seems strange.

@PerkingFaintly It is the last segment on WATO from today https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00316yv

Could I please ask for a link for that, if you have one to hand?

Reform's upper echelons might enjoy hanging out with glitzy millionaires (or indeed being glitzy millionaires) in Mediterranean tax havens or Dubai, but they shouldn't lose sight of the impact of their behaviour on ordinary supporters at the grass roots.

@EEexpat , Farage is being investigated for failing to declare Harborne's £5 quid donation.

Not for where Harborne lived at the time. Anyone trying to make it about that is trying to distract you.

In fact I've noticed it's a general technique with Reform. Continually declaring themselves Not Guilty of something slightly different from what they've been accused of.

Tim Montgomerie would know these things. He doesn't seem to have any scruples over taking Hungarian public money, funded by processing Russian oil, to express his views.

The West Midlands police is satisfied enough to start an investigation.

Are you now suggesting people should not heckle?