Nigel Farage is currently being investigated by Parliament’s standard commissioner, but still insists he would accept further Reform UK donations from his billionaire pal, Christopher Harborne
Nigel Farage insisted Reform UK would “gladly” accept further donations from his billionaire backer, despite being investigated by Parliament’s standards commissioner.
Critics argued the Reform UK leader should have declared a mysterious £5million gift from the crypto billionaire before the 2024 General Election. Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai cryptocurrency billionaire, has since registered to vote in the UK, with Farage saying he was “pleased” he had done so.
Harborne gave Farage £5m gift in the run-up to the 2024 General Election, before the former MEP announced he would stand as an MP. He has since donated more than £25m to Reform UK.
Speaking at a rally tonight, Farage was asked whether the party would accept further donations from Harborne despite the investigation. He said: “Gladly. Of course.”
“Of course we would and we’re very pleased he (Mr Harborne) has re-registered back in the UK.”
The investigation into the gift is looking into whether he broke the House of Commons rules that say all newly elected MPs must declare relevant gifts or donations received within the 12 months prior to their election. Farage has given many explanations to why he accepted the gift.
Previously he claimed the gift was given for security purposes, to keep him “safe and secure” for the rest of his life, before claiming the gift was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all.” He later claimed the money was a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit.
The Reform Leader has spent the last few weeks claiming wasn’t the public’s business how he spends the gift, even going as far as saying he can splash it on Ferraris or betting on horse-racing if he wishes.
He said: “No one cares, apart from the media. No one cares. No one cares at all.”
He claimed last month the gift had only became public knowledge because his phone had been compromised by Russian hackers, but Farage is yet to show evidence to back up the claim.
In a recent interview with BBC Breakfast, he told the interviewer it was none of her business what he spent the gift on.
He said: There’s been a complaint received, a complaint from the Conservative Party chairman. They’re investigating it. We’ll see what they’re saying. I’m absolutely convinced I’ve done nothing wrong in any way at all.
“I also know that since I was elected as an MP, I’ve taken zero in personal expenses. I’m very careful and very cautious about these things. I believe it to be a wholly private matter. The standards commissioner may take a different view.”
He added: “Let’s be clear, it’s an unconditional gift. I can spend it on cars if I want to. It’s entirely up to me, right.”
He said it was “none of your business” how much of it he had spent, before asking the interviewer: “How much of your salary do you spend on beer, on petrol?”
Mr Farage confirmed he didn’t regret not declaring it, and claimed voters wouldn’t care if he had £5m in his bank account.
In another interview with LBC, the Reform party leader said: “With all due respect, what’s it got to do with you?”
When asked about his different explanations regarding the reason for the gift. He said: “It’s an unconditional gift. I can spend it on Ferraris if I want. That’d be entirely up to me.”
He added: “Look, there are not two stories. One is I was given the money unconditionally. I believe it was a reward for giving up a quarter of a century of my life, giving up a huge income in the city of London, putting up with lots of abuse. I believe that was the motive, whether it was or not. That is that side of the equation. The other side of the equation is what I intend to do with that. I’ve made that perfectly clear.”
Labour chair Anna Turley said: “This morning Nigel Farage seemed to change his story over his secret £5m ‘gift’ every other minute. First it was described as a ‘reward for Brexit’, then it was apparently for security, and now Farage says it is a ‘wholly private matter’. If Farage has nothing to hide, he should stop dodging questions and come clean.”
