Reform UK donor Christopher Harborne had given the cash to pay for Nigel Farage’s safety, the occasion chief stated.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage (Picture: Getty)Reform UK chief Nigel Farage has stated there was “no obligation” to declare a £5million present he acquired from a billionaire backer earlier than he grew to become an MP. Mr Farage acquired the seven-figure sum from Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne in 2024 earlier than he re-entered politics. The occasion chief stated the present was “purely non-public” and “wasn’t political in any sense in any respect”. He added: “The foundations are very clear. And consider you me, we have checked out this from each authorized angle, there isn’t any obligation to declare one thing that’s an unconditional, non-political, private present. And it’ll guarantee I might be protected for the remainder of my life.”
The Reform chief has been referred to the Parliamentary Requirements watchdog by the Tories, who stated he had been required to report the present to the Commons.
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Harborne’s present to Farage was given to him in early 2024 forward of the final election that yr, and it doesn’t seem on his register of pursuits. Reform UK sources say Farage acquired the cash earlier than he supposed to face for Parliament. Going through his first questions on digital camera in regards to the cash, Mr Farage instructed broadcasters the £5 million present had been given to him “for one objective”.
He stated: “I have been probably the most attacked, bodily, politician of contemporary instances. And but regardless of repeated requests to the House Workplace, the police, for cover and assist, I have been denied at each twist and switch.
“This cash is the one method I can take care of myself, and shield myself for the remainder of my life.”
The Home of Commons code of conduct states that new MPs “should register all their present monetary pursuits, and any registrable advantages (apart from earnings) acquired within the 12 months earlier than their election inside one month of their election”.
The foundations say “purely private presents or advantages” from household or business loans wouldn’t usually should be registered. The foundations additionally say “each the doable motive of the giver and the use to which the present is to be put must be thought of”, including “if there may be any doubt, the profit must be registered”.
The Conservatives have additionally raised issues with the Electoral Fee, which stated it was contemplating the data.
Mr Harborne bolstered Reform’s warfare chest with a £9 million donation final August – the largest single donation in historical past to a political occasion from a residing particular person – and he has given hundreds of thousands extra since and beforehand.
Mr Farage disclosed he had acquired a separate £5 million private present as he spoke of an assault on his home.
A lit incendiary machine was shoved by means of his letterbox in early 2025 in an “outright arson try” when he was not in, he instructed The Telegraph.
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