LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) – Britain’s anti-immigrant party Reform UK said on Wednesday it was talking to the parliamentary watchdog, following a report its leader Nigel Farage was being investigated over a 5 million pound ($6.75 million) gift which he did not declare.
After the BBC reported that Reform was being investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over the donation, Reform, the biggest winner in local elections last week, confirmed it was discussing it but said no rules had been broken.
“He (Farage) has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken,” a spokesman for the party said. “We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.”
Farage has said he accepted the donation from the Thailand-based billionaire and crypto investor Christopher Harborne to pay for his personal security before he announced his candidacy in the 2024 national election that brought him into parliament.
He said it was not a political donation, but rival political parties in April accused him of breaking rules, which require members of parliament to declare donations received in the year preceding an election within one month of taking office.
Opponents say the funding from an overseas billionaire demonstrates a gulf between the image Farage cultivates as a man of the people willing to take on the establishment, and his dependence on wealthy donors.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner’s Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
INVESTIGATION HIGHLIGHTS SCRUTINY OF REFORM’S DONATIONS
If the investigation finds Farage committed a serious breach of parliamentary declaration rules, he could be suspended from the House of Commons for a period of time. A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, potentially forcing him to stand in a special election for his seat.
Reform has topped every national opinion poll since early last year, prompting increased scrutiny of the party’s sources of funding.
About two-thirds of Reform’s funding last year came from Harborne, according to Electoral Commission data.
Anna Turley, the chair of the governing Labour Party, said Farage had refused to answer legitimate questions.
“It’s one rule for them, and another for everyone else,” she said. “They are not on your side.”
Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, said at the weekend that voters already knew about the gift and had still chosen to vote in large numbers for the party, which made sweeping gains in elections for local government in England and devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.
Before the 2024 election, Farage had said he did not intend to stand as a candidate. He changed his mind about a month before the vote.
Earlier this year, Farage apologised after he was found by the parliamentary authorities to have inadvertently committed 17 breaches of rules on declaring financial interests including payments from Google and Elon Musk’s X Corp.
Parliament’s Standards Commissioner concluded the failures were unintentional and caused by staffing and other administrative issues.
($1 = 0.7406 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sarah Young and Andrew MacAskill, editing by William James and Kate Holton)
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