The driver was uninjured after the crash

A car crashed into a wall along a Cambridgeshire city road. Cambridgeshire Police were called to a crash along Star Road in Peterborough in the early hours of Monday (August 31).

A driver crashed a car into a wall. A police spokesperson said: “We were called at about 1.10am on Monday with reports a car had crashed into a wall in Star Road, Peterborough.

“The driver of the car, a silver Mercedes, was uninjured and no arrests were made.”

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If you’re heading to university for the first time, or back for another term, make sure you’ve ticked off your checklist ahead of your first seminar. 

Fortunately, Very has got you covered when it comes to tech, especially if you’re an Apple fan, with plenty of MacBooks, iPads, iPhones and AirPods to shop, to fit every course and budget. 

Some courses will require a laptop, while for others having a slimline iPad can be a great way to tackle creative projects and take notes without taking up much room, and a decent pair of headphones can also help when you’re trying to get through those late-night library sessions. 

If it’s your first time owning a MacBook and you’re not quite sure where to start, this Buying Guide has all the info you need on processing speeds, storage capabilities and battery life.

For example, if you’re looking to spend less than £700, the MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 2026) 13-inch might be your best bet. It has a sleek design, comes in four colours, and is just 1.27cm thin.

It’s considerably cheaper than a standard MacBook Air, which can cost well over £1,000, so it’s more accessible, but can easily handle everyday student tasks like web browsing, writing essays, and streaming lectures.

SHowever, if you need an iPad or don’t have the budget to splurge on a MacBook, the iPad (A16, 2025), 11-inch is a great alternative. 

You can find it in two options: one with 128GB and the other with 256GB of storage, so there’s plenty of space for taking lecture notes, working on group projects, or putting presentations together. 

It has 10 hours of battery life, which will see you through lectures and library revision sessions, and better still, it can handle multitasking thanks to its Split View Feature. 

If your phone is in dire need of an upgrade, Very’s selection of iPhones is pretty impressive, and you can currently save up to £100 on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. It’s a welcome saving for what can be a very expensive time of year. 

Last but not least, if you’re living with noisy flatmates or simply need a bit of peace and quiet to get work done, consider adding Apple’s AirPods 4 to your back-to-uni basket. 

Perfect for drowning out the noise, calling home to catch up with mum and dad, or listening to a podcast on your commute to lectures, they pair easily with other Apple products, and you don’t need to worry about tangled cables. 

All in all, Very’s one-stop shop for all things Apple has everything you need to ensure you’re ready to lock in to a new term at uni, and take the hassle out of it. 

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Nick Kyrgios has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for cocaine, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said.

The Australian, 31, failed a drugs test during an ATP Tour event in Mallorca in June 2026. The former Wimbledon finalist was provisionally suspended last month.

The ITIA said Kyrgios had agreed to attend a treatment programme approved by the ITIA, which has lowered Kyrgios’ suspension from three months to one month.

As a result, Kyrgios’ suspension is already over, as the ITIA said his provisional ban began on 4 August 2026 and ended on 3 September 2026.

The ITIA said Kyrgios’ explanatation that he had used cocaine “socially during a night out” was “consistent with the level of cocaine found in his sample”.

As a result, the ITIA accepted his use of cocaine was outside of competition and subject to a lighter penalty.

After his provisional suspension was announced last month, Kyrgios said he had made “a huge mistake”.

He wrote on Instagram: “I wanted you to hear this from me first. I recently failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine.

“I made a huge mistake and I take full responsibility for it. I’m sorry to my fans, my family, my sponsors and everyone close to me. Above all, I’m sorry to the kids who follow me.

“I know the example this sets and I’m deeply disappointed in myself.”

His first-round loss to fellow Australian Adam Walton in Majorca was his last competitive singles outing and one of only four singles matches he has played this season.

Kyrgios’ career has been blighted by knee and wrist problems since his run to the Wimbledon showpiece in 2022 and his ranking has slipped to 919 in the world.

He said he would not make “excuses” for the positive test but cited the toll of his physical issues.

“My body hasn’t been able to do what my mind expects it do, and coming to terms with being near the end of my career has been harder than I ever imagined,” he said.

“At times I’ve felt hopeless and alone. However, the good news is that this has given me a wake-up call.”

Kyrgios added he would be taking a 28-day break from social media to focus on “getting myself right”, concluding: “I’m sorry, I’ll come back better.”

Britain’s Dan Evans was banned for a year for taking cocaine out of competition in 2017 but the rules changed in 2021, with the penalties reduced.

Includes reporting from PA

Aerial imagery of a restored wetland in England “shows what climate resilience could look like across the UK”, a leading conservation charity has said.  

From above, the Holnicote Estate in Somerset (pictured) appears lush and green, in stark contrast to the parched landscape around it. 

According to the National Trust, that’s because ecologists at the estate have reconnected rivers, restored wetlands and reintroduced beavers in a bid to retain water. At the end of what is expected to be the hottest summer on record in the UK, the approach appears to have worked. 

“For generations, as a nation we’ve drained wetlands, straightened rivers and moved water off the land as quickly as possible – here we’ve reversed that approach and the results are remarkable,” said Ben Eardley, project manager at the National Trust, which runs the estate. 

The UK has lost around 90% of its wetlands over the last century. Restoring them could help it to become more climate resilient, the trust argues. 

“Evidence shows that nature-based solutions can reduce flood risk, improve water quality, increase biodiversity and build resilience to drought,” said Eardley. “Nature shouldn’t be viewed as a cost of climate adaptation. It should be seen as one of our greatest allies.”

Related: How rewilding could help stop the spread of wildfires

Image: National Trust/Steve Sayers
Main image: iStock/NicolasMcComber

Two men have been pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal nine days after floods devastated the region, with hopes rising for the others trapped as rescue crews report hearing more voices from inside the hydropower plant.

The unidentified men were pulled from a small hole at the Trishul 3A hydropower plant in quick succession on Friday, as local television news channels shared images of the workers covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.

Dramatic video also showed about a dozen rescuers pulling a man from a small hole in the ground and clapping as he reached safety. 

Officials have since identified the two men as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor. They are both now under medical observation, army spokesperson Brig. Gen Raja Ram Basnet said. 

The rescue came amid a desperate operation to bore into the tunnel as at least 557 workers remain missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, with about 115 believed to be trapped inside the main tunnel following the deadly August 26 floods.

Dozens of people had been working inside the 2.5-mile long tunnel that leads to an underground powerhouse when a glacier collapsed.

As the days went by, hopes had been fading for the safe rescue of the workers at the plants that run along the river, including foreigners from China, South Korea and India. 

But as the two men were rescued on Friday, search crews ‘heard voices,’ Bipin Regmi, police chief in the hard-hit district of Nuwakot, told CNN – leading rescuers to believe some people may still be alive inside the tunnels.

Rescue crews are seen carrying one of the freed power plant workers to safety

The rescue came amid a desperate operation to bore into the tunnel to search for 42 workers who remained unaccounted for following the deadly August 26 floods 

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At least 1,259 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. China, as of late Wednesday, said 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side of the border.

About 900 workers are missing from a dozen hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has said it is continuing to track about 75 Americans who remain unaccounted for across the Nepal-China border. Sixteen Americans have made their way to safety, US officials announced Wednesday.

Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah opened up about the efforts the government was making to find those who remain missing on Tuesday, as he thanked local and international organizations for their ‘unprecedented courage, patience, support, cooperation and facilitation,’ ABC News reports.

‘We are moving forward from search, rescue and relief distribution to rehabilitation after the devastating flood,’ he then announced on social media.

More than 21,000 security personnel from Nepal’s national police, army and armed forces have been dispatched to aid in the search and rescue efforts, officials said.

As of Wednesday morning, thousands of emergency responders had also doled out medical treatment to at least 4,070 people. 

Soldiers are pictured carrying a powerplant worker to safety on Friday morning

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A Nepal Army soldier is seen trying to sift through the mud during the search efforts

Nepal army soldiers are pictured working during a search and rescue operation outside a tunnel near the Hydropower Project sites on Wednesday

At least 1,259 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing nine days since the flood

But throughout the country, roads, villages and buildings were destroyed, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said, adding that at least 48 suspension bridges were damaged – 28 of which will have to be completely replaced. 

The government has since released about 1 billion Nepali rupees, or about $6.5 million, to aid in rebuilding the flood-affected areas. 

The disaster began on August 26, when the earth started shaking along the Nepal-China border.

The US Geological Survey initially detected the shaking as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake but later determined that a massive section of glacier had collapsed.

The United States Geological Survey described the seismic event as an extremely powerful ‘glacial collapse and debris flow’ that caused catastrophic impacts downstream.

As the ice mass plummeted, it was pulverized into a fast-flowing mix of freezing water, debris and rocks that swept down the mountainside into the Lende Khola River, razing villages along the way.

When the bodies then started piling up in Nepal, authorities started burying the remains in temporary graves until they could be identified.

Crews are working to preserve DNA samples, photographing distinguishing facial features and recording other identifying details. 

Each body is also assigned a reference number to help families identify and claim the remains later. 

The eight-year-old’s temperature kept rising and she displayed other symptoms her mum recognised from a worrying documentary

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An eight-year-old girl had to be rushed to hospital after a family trip to the beach saw her infected with a dangerous bacteria when she swallowed sea water. Keeva Hollow was swimming with her twin sister at Dorset’s Avon Beach when she was hit by a wave and swallowed water.

The next day she was lethargic, with a high temperature and no appetite, and her mum realised something was wrong. Aisling Mccarthy said: “It has been a terrible time; Keeva was so ill. She used to swim all the time, a real water baby. But now I can’t see her ever going in the sea again; she is so scared of becoming sick again. To be honest, I don’t want her going back into it anyway until I know it is totally safe.”

Aisling had taken Keeva and her twin sister Cornelia to Avon Beach on August 3. “I was watching the girls swim when I saw a wave hit Keeva and she started spluttering,” she said. “She came out and said she had swallowed a lot of water. Cornelia had not at all, and I didn’t worry too much at the time.

“But the next morning Keeva would not eat her breakfast. We were going to London, and she slept the whole journey. Her temperature was going up, and she just was not herself. We were supposed to be going to Ireland to see my mother who was ill. But the next morning Keeva would not get out of bed, and her temperature was really high. She had declined really fast. I found an out-of-hours doctor and took her to him. He asked for a urine sample; by then Keeva had really bad diarrhoea and I noticed there was blood in it.”

“I had seen a documentary about sewage pollution in water, and I realised that Keeva’s symptoms were similar to those of a girl who died from polluted seawater. I told the doctor I was taking her to A&E and rushed there. Keeva was put on a drip while tests were carried out. She was so ill by then, she had deteriorated so quickly it was frightening.”

Keeva spent two days in hospital where she was diagnosed with a campylobacter infection. Aisling said: “The hospital said it can be food poisoning as well but Keeva does not eat meat which is one of the main sources of that bacteria.

“Her illness happened straight after the sea-swallowing incident at Avon Beach, and Cornelia has not been ill at all. I have a very clear memory of that moment when the wave hit Keeva, seeing her spluttering from swallowing the water. I am convinced that was what caused her to become so ill.”

Aisling says Keeva is still not back to full health. “She was always a very sporty girl but she now gets out of breath quickly. She used to keep up with me on a 5km run, but now she struggles to do 1km. She has lost a ton of weight, and her clothes are hanging off her. But the saddest thing is her fear of going into the sea.”

Aisling contacted Wessex Water, which manages wastewater and environmental protection for the River Stour, notifying them about Keeva and asking for any information on recent sewage leakages. But she has not received a reply yet. BCP Council sent a letter to Aisling, having been notified by the hospital of Keeva’s infection.

“But the letter was all about food poisoning and was asking where Keeva had eaten,” she said. “I replied saying I believed it was seawater, not food, but they claimed they had had no other reports of people becoming ill from swimming in the sea. I was shocked by their attitude because surely, as a huge tourism area due to its beautiful beaches, BCP should be concerned about what has happened to Keeva. But they don’t appear to be.”

“I want Wessex Water and BCP Council to be completely upfront with people and tell us if the water is safe. I am very angry, it was awful to see my child suffering and I don’t want anyone else to become ill. I have lost my trust in the people responsible for our sea and waterways.”

Recent tests of the River Stour, which flows into the sea at Christchurch, showed “extremely unsafe” levels of E. coli. Martin Stewart, managing director of Stewarts Garden Centres and chair of the Christchurch Harbour & Marine Society, said testing on August 19 showed E.coli levels of 300,000 – the safe bathing level is 1,000. He also found several other “concerning” levels of bacteria in his samples.

Aisling says her family’s idyllic life of living by the ocean has now been shattered. “My husband is from this area and has always loved the sea,” she explained. “We moved here from London to be by the ocean a week after the twins were born. We bought a house within walking distance to the beach, and the sea has been our life – but now I’m too scared to let the girls in it.”

Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally that hosts American forces in the Mideast, has paid a price for its relationship with Washington, which has made the kingdom’s military bases a target of repeat Iranian strikes.

Hundreds of drone and missile attacks have added to other strains on Jordan that include a slumping economy and volatility in the neighboring West Bank, where Israeli settlers have ramped up attacks on Palestinians.

Despite the risk of more strikes, Jordanian leaders say they are committed to maintaining the relationship after decades of courting deeper security ties with American officials and offering to be a reliable partner with the West in a region rocked by conflict. Analysts say the alliance offers Jordan a way to guard against Iran’s attempts to destabilize its neighbors.

King Abdullah II of Jordan seemed to acknowledge the need for such alliances last year, when he warned that destabilization fueled by the COVID-19 crisis, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and multiple Israeli military campaigns in the Middle East could trigger chaos far beyond the region.

“We are living through wave after wave of disruption, without pause,” he told European lawmakers. “There is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end. That, my friends, is a threat to people everywhere.”

Jordan embraces Washington to weather stormy Middle East

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a puzzle-piece-shaped nation bordering Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel and the West Bank. More than 11 million Jordanians live between the Jordan River, the Red Sea and eastern deserts strewn with ruins.

Besides the threat from Iran, Jordan faces other challenges, such as an economy that has buckled under millions of refugees fleeing regional conflicts. Soaring energy prices and inflation have added to the burden as the tourism sector struggles to draw visitors to landscapes lionized in Hollywood by Peter O’Toole, Harrison Ford and Matt Damon.

And next door, growing Israeli settler violence in the West Bank is deeply unsettling to Jordanians who fear instability could drive many of the 2.8 million Palestinians there to flee into the kingdom, said Sean Yom, a professor at Temple University and author of a 2025 book titled “Jordan: Politics in an Accidental Crucible.”

Since taking the reins from his father, King Hussein, in 1999, Abdullah has forged ever-stronger links between his capital, Amman, and Washington. The monarch — a fluent English speaker whose dynasty claims to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad — enjoys widespread support among world leaders and Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the U.S.

President Donald Trump once called the king “one of the true great leaders of the world.” Joe Biden also praised his leadership. First lady Jill Biden was a guest at the wedding of Abdullah’s son Hussein to a Saudi aristocrat in 2023. Pope Leo welcomed Abdullah to the Vatican in 2025.

As part of its partnership with the West, Jordan provided logistical help and intelligence for the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, and it contributed to the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Jordanian elites see Iran’s support of Shiite militias in Iraq, armed Palestinian groups and Syrian drug traffickers as direct threats to the royal court, Yom said.

“Very few people in Jordan think the Islamic Republic is good for the Middle East,” he said.

US military operations rely on a dozen sites in Jordan

Amman and Washington signed a defense-cooperation agreement in 2021 that granted U.S. forces and contractors access to 12 military installations across the kingdom. The NATO military alliance opened its first liaison office in the region in Jordan in 2025.

In the run-up to the Iran war, Jordan’s sprawling Muwaffaq Salti Air Base became “a key logistics hub” for U.S. C-17 transport planes and about 60 combat aircraft, said David Schenker, a fellow at the Washington Institute.

“Jordan provides great strategic depth,” he said, calling the kingdom’s position “essential” to the U.S. campaign against Iran. “This makes Jordan a target, not just targeting U.S. forces but also targeting the king.”

About 50,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed across the Middle East, with an unknown number in Jordan. Schenker estimates that at least 8%, or $1.47 billion, of the kingdom’s annual budget comes directly from U.S. grants.

Adm. Charles Bradford, commander of the Pentagon department covering the Middle East, said in May that the U.S. military had relocated personnel and assets from its mission against the Islamic State from Iraq to Jordan. The shift was part of a broader, long-running strategy to put more distance between American forces and Iranian missiles.

Those troops were enough to draw fire to Jordan from the Islamic Republic. Most of the incoming missiles and drones were knocked down by U.S. air defenses.

Speaking Thursday in Vienna, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi defended his country’s right to make its own decisions.

“Iran has been attacking us and many other countries in the region long before even this war started,” he said, referring to Iranian “meddling in internal affairs” and other clandestine efforts. “So we do not buy their argument. We are a sovereign country. We were not a party to this war.”

___

Associated Press video journalist Philipp-Moritz Jenne contributed to this report.

Children being trafficked to Scotland are also being made to work in nail bars, car washes and the hospitality industry.

Vietnamese children are being trafficked into Scotland and sexually abused, the Daily Record can reveal.

Shock statistics show that since 2020, Police Scotland has received 342 case referrals where south-east Asian ­youngsters have been kept in slavery.

Thirty-one cases involve children being sexually exploited, usually through prostitution or escort work. They are often made to work in flats or “pop-up” brothels.

Data released via a freedom of information request by Police Scotland show most cases since 2020 were in Edinburgh with 74, Glasgow with 72 and Ayrshire with 49. In the first six months of this year there were 19 child trafficking cases, with three linked to sexual exploitation.

Victims can be forced to work in cannabis farms, nail bars and car washes. Others are made to cook and clean for Vietnamese families.

Karen Miller, of the anti-slavery charity Restore Glasgow, said: “We are horrified to see these latest figures.

“As a Glasgow-based anti-trafficking charity we are naturally aware that ­trafficking happens under our noses all the time, but it’s still shocking to ­contemplate the figures when you remember that each of these numbers is a frightened, exploited child.

“Vietnam is one of the top two source countries for victims of trafficking in the UK, supplying unwilling workers to ubiquitous dodgy nail bars and the cannabis industry.

“Cynical trafficking gangs will recruit people from rural areas, including children, because they lack the education and street smarts to understand the danger of these ‘job offers’.”

Karen added: “What is most horrifying is seeing that Vietnamese children are also being sexually exploited.

“This is the sad truth of the prostitution industry – most victims are first ­prostituted when they are still children, because their age makes them ­particularly vulnerable.

“People, including children, can be excluded from receiving support after trafficking, on public order grounds, because of convictions for crimes they were forced to commit. We would like to see less posturing and instead see the ­government engage in the difficult work of combating the international gangs that drive the trafficking.”

Trafficking expert Kieran Walsh says organised crime groups are often behind the scandal. From 2017 to 2022, he served as a manager for the Salvation Army’s Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery ­Operations department where he encountered victims.

Kieran said: “The trafficking of ­Vietnamese people, both children and adults, has been going on for a ­considerable time as evidenced by your figures.

“Vietnamese organised crime groups can be quite ruthless in how they carry out their activities in trafficking children for illegal and immoral purposes, Either through forced labour or sexual exploitation.”

He says the ­Vietnamese crime groups will bring the children into Europe where local organised crime groups including those from Britain will take over.

He says trafficked ­children often end up working illegally in the ­hospitality industry in kitchens.

Others can be made to work in the construction industry or for removal and logistics firms.

Those made to work in cannabis farms are normally unable to leave while they grow the plants.

He said: “The whole aim to the criminal is to reduce the risk to them of being captured.

“Unfortunately the young people who are brought into the UK are used as the front and the person who will be detained by the police.”

Kieran also says that trafficked children in Scotland are often made to work on fishing boats or in remote hospitality locations.

He added: “They will be made to provide labour where labour is short. It is a very similar picture across the UK.”

Joy Gillespie, chief executive of the Survivors of Human Trafficking in ­Scotland charity, explained that the ­organisation is working with Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the Crown Office to raise awareness of the plight of victims of all ages.

Joy said: “Most victims of trafficking are exploited for many purposes including sex, labour, crime and domestic servitude.

“It is unusual for victims to be only used for one purpose whether they are children or adults.”

Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of national children’s charity, Children First said: “These figures are deeply concerning, but what’s more troubling is they may just be the tip of the iceberg. We don’t have a grasp of the true scale of child criminal exploitation in Scotland and gathering clear data is an urgent priority to ensure the right resources are put into tackling it. “Behind these numbers are children who are living through a nightmare of exploitation, coercion and abuse and without protection, the impact on them will be long-lasting and devastating.

“Every child in Scotland who needs it should have access to specialist help to heal and recover.

“I would urge anyone worried about a child to contact Children First’s confidential support line on 08000 28 22 33. If a child is in immediate danger, contact the police straight away.”

Reform UK has been reported to the police over allegations it breached political donation rules by having polling paid for by an overseas company.

Nigel Farage’s party took funding from a US firm for three polls it commissioned earlier this year costing £32,500, Channel 4 News reported.

The purported donors were in fact undercover reporters from investigative group Verbatim posing as an American financier and his UK-based son.

Foreign companies are not a permissible source of funding for parties, including for payments for studies and research, and accepting donations from them could constitute a criminal offence.

Reform claimed it was the victim of a hoax. A spokesperson said: “Reform UK has been the target of a hoax perpetuated by foreign-funded, climate change activists posing as would-be party donors. The party denies any wrongdoing.

“Reform UK has a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission.”

The Liberal Democrats have written to the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission. Labour also intends to report the matter to the police, it is understood, and the Greens have called for an investigation.

The Met said it is assessing the reports.

In a letter to the force’s special enquiry team, Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart wrote: “I am writing to report to your unit a potential serious breach of electoral law, involving the acceptance and concealment of a donation from an impermissible donor.

“The breach raises alarming questions about whether there has been a wider complacency toward foreign interference by the individuals involved.”

Ms Smart said that James Orr, a senior adviser to Mr Farage, facilitating the £32,500 donation from an impermissible donor would mark a breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.

She continued: “The funding appears to have been channelled into political spending on behalf of Reform UK, and therefore a donation in kind, in a manner apparently structured so as to avoid the payment being recorded and reported as a donation to the Electoral Commission. This would constitute a clear breach of section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.”

Mr Orr, Reform’s policy head who is at the centre of the allegations, said that “no money reached Reform UK at all”.

“It was a public poll arranged by an independent person paying an independent pollster, and those polls were published immediately for the general public,” he said in a video posted to X.

It comes at a sensitive moment for Reform, members of which have gathered for its annual conference in Birmingham with Mr Farage set to deliver his comeback speech on Friday afternoon.

Mr Farage is already under investigation by the parliamentary watchdog over a £5 million donation he received just before becoming an MP from crypto billionaire Chris Harborne, which he failed to declare.

The Reform UK leader has always insisted the money was a private gift for his personal security and not political, so it did not need to be declared.

But other questions have been raised about gifts and donations from his long-term associate George Cottrell, known as Posh George, and his mother.

The latest allegations also come as Reform has been sliding in the polls, averaging around 23 per cent. This is around 10 points down from last year, and the party is trailing Labour in most surveys.

A More in Common poll earlier this week also had Kemi Badenoch’s Tories ahead of Reform.

Mr Farage hoped to have drawn a line under the allegations with his by-election victory in Clacton last month, but the sting operation took place while he was campaigning there.

Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said: “This scandal goes right to the top of Reform UK. Nigel Farage needs to urgently prove today that his top team haven’t broken the law and secretly plotted to undermine our democracy.

“It’s not just Farage’s secret £5 million ‘gift’. Time and again he and his mates think the rules don’t apply to them. The sleaze and scandal now engulfing him and his party isn’t going away – it’s getting worse.

“It’s time to stop the deflections and desperate excuses. Farage and Reform must co-operate with the authorities to establish the truth and prove just how deep this scandal goes.”

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told Channel 4 News: “Let’s not pre-empt the police investigation and what the Electoral Commission find. But if they are found guilty, he (Mr Farage) should face the full force of the law, and that could be very, very heavy fines. It could even be a prison sentence.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: “These very serious claims should be fully investigated by the Electoral Commission and the police.

“There are millions of reasons why Nigel Farage is happy to take money from billionaires, climate science deniers and secret foreign backers, and not one of them is because he has any interest in improving people’s lives.”

Chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry, said: “It is a criminal offence to knowingly receive a donation for a political party from a foreigner with no connection to the UK.

“What has been caught on camera by Channel 4 looks to be very serious indeed. I expect the police to investigate.

“We must protect our democracy from foreign interference and keep all dodgy money out.”

A Met Police spokesperson said: “We’re aware of media reporting on Thursday 3 September involving political party donations and an alleged breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 relating to polling.

“We will assess this matter and any information provided to us.”

An Electoral Commission spokesperson said: “The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500.

“Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider.”