Reform UK cannot rule out more hidden gifts as Tice faces grilling over Farage's £5m

Richard Tice has admitted Reform UK cannot guarantee that no other large personal gifts have been given to Nigel Farage or senior party figures, as the deputy leader faced a hostile press conference over the £5m donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The first Reform press conference in 50 days was held on Wednesday, with Farage conspicuously absent — a departure for a politician who once held two or three press conferences a week and “usually only knows he’s alive if there’s a camera recording his every movement”, according to the Guardian’s sketch writer. Tice, standing before a backdrop emblazoned with “Cleaning Up Britain”, said the party was “not aware” of any other large gifts, but added: “Have I checked the bank account of every single one out of thousands of Reform members? We are working incredibly hard and are confident in what we’re doing.” His comments came after the Guardian revealed that Farage received £5m from Harborne before the general election. Tice insisted neither he nor Farage were afraid of questions, saying: “I think one thing you can say over the last 30 years is that Nigel Farage is not scared.” He blamed the leader’s 50-day absence from the press conference circuit on a desire to show the party’s “broad range of talent”, adding: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” The press conference itself was dominated by the donation controversy, but Tice also unveiled a policy to increase penalties for fly-tipping and announced a national litter-picking day on 4 July. The sketch writer described the event as “disappointing”, noting that Tice had “dragged the TV cameras out to inform us he had noticed there was a great deal of litter on our streets”. Tice was also challenged over the case of former Reform leader in Wales Nathan Gill, who was found guilty of accepting a bribe from Russian-linked agents. A reporter asked how “taking a huge secret payment, and then advocating for Russia, [is] different from taking a huge secret payment and then advocating for crypto”. Tice dismissed any similarity, arguing that Gill’s payment was a criminal offence, while crypto was “a part of modern society” and he favoured an “innovative and transparent” crypto hub in the City of London. The event was Tice’s first press conference since Farage’s £5m donation became public, and the questions showed no sign of abating.