Reform UK pays Nigel Farage's security despite £5m gift as watchdog ruling nears
Summary
- Nigel Farage received a £5m gift from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024, before he stood as MP for Clacton.
- He has given varying accounts of the money: security for life, a reward for Brexit campaigning, or cash to spend as he wished.
- Reform UK's central funds have paid more than £150,000 in a year for his security team and two cars, despite the gift.
- Farage turned down a reduced taxpayer-funded security offer after a 2025 review; Reform UK declined to say whether gift money covered security.
- Farage expects parliament's standards commissioner to rule against him imminently; a serious breach could trigger a recall petition and by-election in Clacton.
Reactions
- Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said Farage's excuses over the secret £5m gift have fallen apart and Reform UK is unfit for office.
- A Conservative spokesperson said Farage should come clean about where the £5m has gone and what it was really for.
- Reform UK said it does not comment on security matters as standard practice and refused to say whether any of the gift went on security.
- Farage said there is no case to answer over the gift and called questions about the investigation absurd.
- A Reform UK source said the security arrangement is completely at odds with the narrative Farage has tried to sell the public.
- Donations of £36m each from Harborne and Ben Delo reignited calls for a cap on donations to political parties.
Timeline newest first
Reform UK was reported to pay for Nigel Farage's security from party funds despite his £5m gift from Christopher Harborne.
Sources said Reform UK's central funds have paid more than £150,000 in a year for Nigel Farage's security team and two cars.
Nigel Farage said he expects the standards commissioner to find against him over the £5m gift and confirmed he has been interviewed.
Sources newest first
Nigel Farage’s security paid for by Reform UK despite claim over £5m giftThe Guardian reports that Nigel Farage's security has been paid from Reform UK's central funds — more than £150,000 in a year — despite his varying accounts of a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, which the donor said was meant to cover his security for life. Farage refused a taxpayer-funded bodyguard and car, and Reform UK declined to say whether any of the gift went on security, while Labour and the Conservatives demanded answers.
Farage expects damning verdict on £5m ‘gift’ from parliament’s sleaze watchdogThe Independent reports that Nigel Farage expects parliament's standards commissioner to find against him imminently over the £5m he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, which he says paid for lifelong private security and had no political connection. A serious breach could mean a suspension of 10 days or more, a recall petition in Clacton, and a by-election he would have to fight again.
Background newest first
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice lobbied Bank of England on crypto after £9m donationinews.co.uk· 31h
The i Paper reports that Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice lobbied the Bank of England for "light touch" crypto regulation in November 2024, four months after the party received a £9m donation from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne — then the largest donation from a living donor. The released letters are likely to raise questions about the relationship between Reform's backers and its crypto stance; Nigel Farage denies wrongdoing over a separate £5m payment from Harborne that Parliament's standards commissioner is investigating, and Reform denies its donors expect anything in return.
A Tax Dodger, A Gobshite And A Tory Turncoat Walk Into A Room…substack.com· 32h
A satirical post in the voice of Nigel Farage recounts a Reform press conference in Wolverhampton, where he claims to have left Richard Tice, Zia Yusuf and Robert Jenrick in charge while awaiting the verdict on his £5 million bribe, and mocks Reform's pledge to cut shopping bills by £140 a year despite a study finding Brexit added £250 per household. Tice is accused of tax avoidance, Yusuf is quoted shouting catchphrases at a stage-managed audience, and Jenrick is mocked for a misleading jobs statistic and a special economic zone for the Black Country.
For Trump, Musk and Farage, the message is the same: voters don’t want to be hijacked by billionaires | Rafael BehrRafael Behr's Guardian column argues that voters on both sides of the Atlantic reject billionaires hijacking politics, citing Elon Musk's failed $224 million Texas spending and James Talarico's win after making defiance of that meddling his rallying cry. He links Nigel Farage's fortunes to cryptocurrency donors including Christopher Harborne's £50 million in gifts, a pending standards verdict, and Reform UK's slide behind Labour in the polls.
The fall of FarageSam Freedman's Substack article, revised from a Times Literary Supplement piece, reviews John Sweeney's The Real Nigel Farage and Nick Tyrone's The Rise of Reform to examine Nigel Farage's fall from grace. Freedman says Farage is now Britain's most unpopular politician — 67 per cent view him unfavourably per YouGov — leaving few votes beyond Reform's loyal base.
Nigel Farage’s regular column for the Telegraph to endThe Guardian reports that Nigel Farage's regular Telegraph column is ending, with sources suggesting Axel Springer decided not to renew his contract while allies say he resigned over the paper's direction. The news comes amid staff unease over the Telegraph's Reform UK links and mass redundancies that have also hit Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan.
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out rejoining EU after next election following Andy Burnham U-turngbnews.com· 25w
A GB News liveblog reports Sir Keir Starmer refusing to rule out rejoining the EU after the next election, following Andy Burnham's U-turn on rejoining, with Downing Street declining to say whether Starmer wants the UK back in. A poll of Labour members found 47 per cent back Burnham as first-choice leader against 31 per cent for Starmer, and the liveblog also covers calls for Nigel Farage to be transparent about a £5 million gift from donor Christopher Harborne after analysts said his company accounts were 'not consistent' with his claim that he bought a £1.4 million house with his I'm A Celebrity fee.
