Verbatim Media
Investigative journalism group behind a 2026 Channel 4 News undercover programme on Reform UK.
Verbatim Media's undercover film on Reform UK, aired by Channel 4 News in early September 2026, alleged that party figures explained how a US company could fund more than £30,000 of polling; Scotland Yard then said possible offences needed investigating.
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What did the Channel 4 News programme allege about Reform UK's polls?
Timeline for Verbatim Media
Made the undercover investigation
UK Local Elections 2026: Delo and Harborne give Reform £72mBackground
Verbatim Media is an investigative journalism group set up by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting, according to Channel 4 News, which broadcast its work and describes it as Independent of the programme. The broadcaster refers to it simply as Verbatim.
Its method is undercover reporting: journalists adopt invented identities to record what people say when they believe they are dealing with a donor or client. The approach is lawful for broadcasters where the public interest justifies it, and it draws challenges to the motives of those behind it.
That pattern played out in September 2026, when Reform UK answered the group's investigation by denying wrongdoing and pointing to its founders' climate-reporting background, while police said complaints about party donations and polling raised possible offences that needed investigating.
Verbatim's sting drew a police response
The programme, broadcast in early September 2026, used reporters WHO presented themselves as a wealthy American and his son. According to the film, senior Reform figures walked them through how a US business could cover the bill for three opinion polls commissioned by the party, costing more than £30,000. Reform denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the operation as a climate activists' hoax.
Two resignations followed the broadcast: James Orr, Reform's head of policy, gave up his POST, as did a member of Nigel Farage's staff. The Metropolitan Police then said it had received reports about a party's donations and polling that disclosed potential offences, without naming anyone.
Who made the Channel 4 News investigation into Reform UK?
What is Verbatim?
What did Reform UK say about the Channel 4 sting?
