Labour calls for investigation over allegations Andrea Jenkyns was bribed to join Reform

2 December 2024, 19:21 | Updated: 2 December 2024, 21:30

By Aggie Chambré

@AgnesChambre

Labour has called for Reform UK to be investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog over the allegation the party’s latest recruit Dame Andrea Jenkyns had been offered a “bribe” to join the party.

Andrea Jenkyns, who announced she was joining Nigel Farage’s party yesterday, told LBC on election night that she was offered a “bribe”.

Ellie Reeves, the chair of Labour, has written to the parliamentary standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, to ask him to look into this.

In the letter - Reeves referenced the interview from Andrew Marr's programme last week - where she did not deny a bribe had been offered, saying: "It was one of their donors and I turned it down. That’s in the past."

The exchange between LBC and Dame Andrea took place after she was accused of bribing the Reform candidate during the general election campaign.

Dame Andrea said: “They said, I tried to bribe him. God knows how I tried to bribe him.

“It was actually one of their party donors who tried to bribe me with an £80,000 job.

“And as you'll also see in the public domain, they tried to do with Lee Anderson.”

Read more: Former Tory minister and MP Andrea Jenkyns defects to join Nigel Farage's Reform

Read more: Reform recruit Andrea Jenkyns accused party donors of offering her £80k 'bribe' to ditch Tories earlier in the year

Reform MP Lee Anderson, who used to be Conservative party chairman, previously made a similar claim.

In November 2023, he said he was offered a job for five years on a £80,000 salary if he defected to Reform.

This letter follows one last week by Reeves where she urged Greenberg to look into the claims from Anderson.

Reeves wrote in her letter, sent over the weekend: “The fact that two individuals have made separate allegations that Reform UK offered them money in order to defect, it is extremely concerning and I urge any investigations that you undertake into the claims made by Lee Anderson MP... be expanded to include these fresh revelations.”

Last week a Reform UK spokesman said “We refute any allegations of so called ‘bribes’.

“Andrea joined the party because she believes in Reform and wants to help save the country.”

Reform UK and Dame Andrea have been contacted for comment.