Nigel Farage has admitted he discussed the possibility of returning as Reform UK leader months before the 2024 general election, a disclosure that could undermine his account of the circumstances surrounding a £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The issue goes to whether Farage should have declared the payment and related benefits when he became an MP.
Farage has previously said he did not need to declare the £5m from Harborne or benefits-in-kind from George Cottrell because he was not in politics when they were received. He has also said he had no intention of returning to politics until June 2024, shortly before the election.
The House of Commons code of conduct says new MPs must register all “registrable benefits” received in the 12 months before their election.
What did Farage say about the talks?
At a press conference on Monday, Farage said he had spoken to Richard Tice in spring 2024 about the “potential liabilities” of taking back the Reform leadership, but insisted the discussions were not an agreement.
“I had no intention about returning to politics, or as leader of Reform, but in the spring of that year I did talk to Richard Tice about what the liabilities would be if…I was to come back to that position.”
He added that it would have been unwise to take on the role without understanding the party’s financial position.
“You would be a bit of a mug if you were to walk into a job and not find out what the potential liabilities were, and they were substantial,”
Asked about the Sunday Times report that he had negotiated the deal in March and April 2024, Farage said he had spoken to Tice about liabilities but said it was not a deal.
“But without Richard, the party wouldn't have even survived, so that was useful for me to know. But it wasn't a deal, it wasn't an agreement, it was subject to if I came back.”
He also said the discussion came after he received the £5m gift.
“If you want clarification on this, that came quite some time after the gift, which is perhaps the important point.”
The Sunday Times reported that Farage had negotiated the deal in March and April 2024, and that it involved Reform agreeing to repay or write off more than £1m in loans to Tice’s company.
Why does the timing matter?
The timing matters because the Commons code says newly elected MPs must register all “registrable benefits” received in the 12 months before election, and if there is doubt the benefit should be declared. Reform’s opponents say the £5m should have been listed in the MPs’ register of interests when Farage was elected to Parliament.
Farage has repeatedly argued the £5m from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne was an “unconditional gift”, was intended for his personal security, “wasn't political in any sense at all” and that he was not an MP when he received it.
The rules say “purely personal gifts or benefits” from family or commercial loans would not normally have to be registered. They also say “both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered”, adding “if there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered”.
What happens to the standards inquiry now?
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner was investigating whether Farage broke the rules, but the process was suspended when he stood down as Clacton MP last month to force a by-election.
Farage said he took that decision because the “people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions”. The investigation will be resumed if Farage wins the by-election, which is taking place on 13 August.
Farage left frontline politics in 2021 and embarked on a broadcasting career. In May 2024, he was serving as Reform’s honorary president but announced he would not be standing as a candidate in the general election in July of that year. He reversed that position at the beginning of June and took over the leadership of the party.
Bridget Phillipson, the chair of the Labour Party, said Farage’s comments had weakened his explanation for not declaring the gift.
“Nigel Farage has blown a gaping hole in his excuse for why his secret £5m ‘gift’ from a crypto billionaire did not need to be declared.
“Farage has desperately tried to distract from his catalogue of scandals. But the embattled Reform leader has run out of road and must come clean with the public. If he had done nothing wrong, he surely would have explained himself by now.
“With grubby pacts, police probes, and support from a convicted fraudster – Reform are up to their neck in sleaze and they clearly think the rules don’t apply to them.”
Key Facts
- Farage said he discussed Reform’s financial liabilities with Richard Tice in spring 2024.
- He said the talks were not a deal or agreement and came after the £5m gift.
- The Sunday Times reported the arrangement was negotiated in March and April 2024.
- The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner’s inquiry is paused until after the Clacton by-election on 13 August.
