KENT — The parliamentary standards commissioner is investigating Nigel Farage following a letter from the Labour Party regarding a £5 million personal gift from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne. Farage reversed his decision not to stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election after receiving the gift.
Farage stated he did not need to declare the gift to authorities because he was not a member of parliament when he received it. He was elected as the member of parliament for Clacton in Essex. Anna Turley, Labour party chair, said: "Your shifting accounts have raised further serious questions about whether you have broken parliamentary rules, about potential conflicts of interest and about whether you have told the truth." Turley added: "It's time he ended his deafening silence and came clean with the public as to what's gone on here. He can't keep dodging questions and changing his story."
Farage initially stated the gift was intended to fund personal security for life. He later stated he considered the gift a reward from Harborne for campaigning for Brexit. A Reform spokesperson said: "Nigel has multiple sources of income, as you can see from his parliamentary register."
Farage purchased a property in Surrey in May 2024 for £1.4 million without a mortgage. A Reform spokesperson stated anti-money laundering checks for the Surrey property purchase were completed before the gift was received. Thorn in the Side Ltd purchased a beachfront house in Greatstone, Kent, for £575,000 in March 2023. A planning application was approved to redevelop the Greatstone property into a four-bedroom home with a sea-view balcony, a log burner, a lift, and six bathrooms.
A spokesperson for Farage stated that work on the first planning application for the Kent property began in November 2023. The spokesperson also stated that no building work has commenced on the Kent property. Accounts for Thorn in the Side Ltd indicated that funds were not withdrawn at the time of the Surrey property purchase. Farage has not held a press conference since April 2024.