Farage says 5m gift a reward for Brexit campaigning

"Nigel Farage has said that 5m he received from a billionaire Reform UK donor was given as a "reward for campaigning for Brexit". The Reform leader also told The Sun he "cannot be bought by anybody" and the money from Christopher Harborne was given to him on a "completely unconditional basis". Reform's opponents have said he should have declared it in the MPs' register of interests when he was elected to Parliament in 2024."

"Asked if he was worried about what people thought of the gift given the scale of it, Farage replied: "It's very unusual for someone to give up 27 years of their life to campaign for something. "And this was given to me on an unconditional basis, completely unconditional basis. But frankly, it was given as a reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years." On whether it had an impact on his decision to return to public life, Farage replied "no" before also saying "I cannot be bought by anybody"."

"Harborne, a British cryptocurrency investor who lives in Thailand, in April told The Telegraph that he "wasn't expecting anything in return apart from ensuring his safety" when referring to the gift. Harborne also said he gave the money to Farage "because of my great admiration for the decades of work he had done to achieve Brexit"."

"The Commons code of conduct states that new MPs "must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election". The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has launched an inquiry into whether or not Farage broke Commons rules by accepting the gift and not declaring it."

Nigel Farage said £5m received from billionaire Christopher Harborne was given as an unconditional reward for campaigning for Brexit over 27 years. Farage said he cannot be bought by anyone and said the gift did not affect his decision to return to public life. Reform opponents argued the money should have been declared in the MPs’ register of interests when Farage was elected in 2024. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner launched an inquiry into whether Commons rules were broken by accepting the gift and not declaring it. Harborne said he was not expecting anything in return beyond ensuring his safety and said he gave the money out of admiration for Farage’s work toward Brexit. Conservatives and Labour called for answers, and the Commons code of conduct requires new MPs to register relevant financial interests and benefits received in the 12 months before election within one month.

Read at www.bbc.com