Nigel Farage is facing renewed questions over his finances after reports that he failed to declare support from a convicted criminal – allegations the Reform UK leader dismissed as an “establishment plot”.
Since May, Farage has been under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner for not declaring a £5m gift he received from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based British cryptocurrency investor, before the election. Harborne has donated £15m to Reform since the start of last year, making him one of the party’s most important financial backers.
“Nigel Farage faces further pressure over undeclared £5m gift and support from convicted ally George Cottrell.”
Opposition parties are now calling for a further parliamentary probe after The Sunday Times reported that Farage also did not disclose support provided by George Cottrell, a longstanding ally who was jailed for eight months in the US in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
According to the newspaper, this support included paying for staff who provided Farage’s security and worked on his social media content. Farage also used a property near Buckingham Palace rented by Cottrell.
Parliament’s rulebook says newly-elected MPs must declare gifts or benefits received in the 12 months before their election that relate to their “parliamentary or political activities”. There is an exemption for gifts that are “purely personal”, but the guidelines say MPs should consider “both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put”. The rulebook adds: “If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.”
Farage registered a £9,253 trip to Belgium donated by Cottrell in April 2024, and a £15,276 donation from Cottrell for a US domestic flight in December 2024. But he has not declared any further support from Cottrell, or the £5m from Harborne, arguing he was not required to do so under the rules.
In interviews towards the end of June, Farage said he had chosen to earmark the £5m sum for his future security costs, insisting he would require protection “for the rest of my life”. However, he stressed the gift was “unconditional” and how he spends it was “entirely up to me”. He told ITV he had yet to spend the money.
Farage has repeatedly claimed he is the victim of an “establishment plot”. Andy Wigmore, an associate from his Brexit campaign days who is now on the board of his anti-World Health Organization pressure group, said the news was “[an] old story and irrelevant – Farage was not even elected, not in politics … same playbook against Farage as we witnessed against Trump, didn’t work with Trump won’t work with Farage.”
But for some observers, the mounting scrutiny may prove to be Reform’s Partygate moment – undermining Farage’s claim to be a politician in tune with typical voters.
