Barrister behind Reform donations review threatened Nation.Cymru with legal action

Adam Richardson demanded that the news website remove Ed Sumner’s name from coverage of offensive WhatsApp exchanges involving Laura Anne Jones, who has since become Reform’s deputy leader in Wales.

Nation.Cymru rejected the demand. The National Union of Journalists condemned what it called an “attempt to bully” the website.

Mr Richardson, Reform’s legal secretary and a longstanding associate of Nigel Farage, has now jointly written a report concluding that the party and two senior figures did not breach electoral law following an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4.

The 27-page internal report, produced with Reform general secretary Tom Waterhouse, prompted Labour to accuse the party of a “whitewash”.

Mr Richardson contacted Nation.Cymru in November 2025 on behalf of Mr Sumner, Reform’s director of communications, who had previously worked for Ms Jones when she was a Conservative MS.

Nation.Cymru had already identified Mr Sumner in reporting about a WhatsApp group whose exchanges included offensive remarks about immigration and gay people, as well as jokes about MS Natasha Asghar and her late father, Mohammad “Oscar” Asghar.

His name was redacted from a subsequent report by Senedd Standards Commissioner Douglas Bain. Nation.Cymru named him in its coverage, having previously established his involvement.

Mr Richardson claimed that publication infringed his client’s privacy rights and began a pre-action process that could lead to a High Court claim. He argued there was no public interest in identifying Mr Sumner and that the redaction meant Nation.Cymru had no legal right to name him.

Nation.Cymru disputed those arguments.

CEO and editor Mark Mansfield said at the time: “We will not give in to the bullying of a Reform barrister. It’s ironic that he wants to curtail our right to freedom of expression given that his party constantly claims it is a defender of free speech. It seems free speech only exists for people who agree with them.”

The NUJ’s Welsh Executive Council backed the website. Its co-chairs, Dr Rachel Howells and David Nicholson, said: “In threatening Nation.Cymru, Reform’s barrister has falsely alleged that the news website breached Mr Sumner’s right to privacy.”

Ms Jones was suspended from the Senedd in November 2025 after using a racial slur to describe Chinese people in a WhatsApp chat. She apologised and denied being racist.

She was elected Reform’s deputy leader in Wales in September, replacing Helen Jenner after Ms Jenner succeeded Dan Thomas as leader.

Undercover reporters

The latest inquiry followed footage of Mr Farage’s press adviser Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr discussing donation arrangements with undercover reporters posing as an American donor and his son.

The investigation, carried out by Verbatim Investigations and broadcast by Channel 4 on September 3, examined a proposed £500,000 donation and polls paid for by the purported donor. Both men were suspended pending Reform’s review.

The party’s report, published on October 7, concluded that the proposed donation never took place and that Mr Jukes commissioned the polls independently as a consultant, rather than on Reform’s behalf.

It found no evidence that either man had facilitated an illegal donation, but said they had “said things that were wrong, careless and in one instance untrue”.

Mr Orr was criticised for suggesting that nobody would find out about impermissible donations and for using “extremely condescending terms” about the Electoral Commission.

The report also criticised Mr Jukes for describing polling arrangements as “clandestine” or “off the books”. It said he had made a claim he “did not know to be true” when he alleged that the party had received foreign money through donors’ children.

It recommended earlier checks on prospective donors and requiring contractors to disclose their other clients.

Mr Richardson is a former UKIP secretary and general secretary who stood for the party in the north-west of England at the 2019 European elections. He has also represented Mr Farage in legal cases.

Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said: “You can find more whitewash in this report than at your local B&Q. Nothing in it exonerates Reform or Nigel Farage from the serious allegations that they still face.”

Legal action

Reform has said it intends to take legal action against Verbatim, alleging that the production company acted unlawfully.

A party spokesperson said: “Having concluded the review, the investigation found no evidence that any laws were broken.

“Reform UK takes its obligations on governance and conduct extremely seriously.”

Channel 4 said it stood by its journalism, which had undergone “extensive editorial and external legal scrutiny prior to broadcast”.

In its response to the report, the broadcaster cited the ongoing police investigation as its reason for not commenting further. The Metropolitan Police had said it would examine the footage as part of an inquiry into donations to Reform.

Verbatim said: “We note that this report is an internal one authored by Reform’s own barrister and general secretary, and that a police investigation remains ongoing. We are confident in our journalism, which speaks for itself.”