Labour urges Farage to answer questions over £5m gift from crypto billionaire
9 reported2 unconfirmed
The Labour party has written to Nigel Farage urging him to stop “evading reasonable scrutiny” over a £5m personal gift he received from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The letter from Labour chair Anna Turley coincides with approval of a planning application revealing Farage’s plans to transform a dilapidated Kent property into a luxury beachfront residence. Farage is under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner after the Guardian reported that he received the gift weeks before reversing his decision not to stand as an MP in the 2024 general election. He was subsequently elected as MP for Clacton in Essex and held weekly press conferences, which have stopped since the Guardian broke the news in April. Farage first said the gift was for personal security, then said it was a reward for campaigning for Brexit. He has insisted he did not need to declare the £5m because he was not an MP when he received it. Details have also emerged of Farage’s plans to redevelop a Kent property purchased in March 2023 for £575,000, with a housing expert estimating the work could cost up to £700,000 and make the property worth up to £1.5m.
What’s reported
Labour chair Anna Turley wrote to Nigel Farage urging him to stop “evading reasonable scrutiny” over a £5m personal gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Farage is under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner after the Guardian revealed the gift.
Farage first said the gift was for personal security, then said it was a reward for campaigning for Brexit.
Farage has insisted he did not need to declare the £5m because he was not an MP when he received it.
Farage’s company, Thorn in the Side Ltd, purchased a Kent home in March 2023 for £575,000; a planning application proposes a large extension.
A housing expert told the Daily Mirror the work could cost up to £700,000 and make the property worth up to £1.5m.
In May, Farage acquired a Surrey home for £1.4m, not mortgaged; Reform said the £1.5m fee from I’m a Celebrity paid for it.
The Financial Times reported that accounts for Thorn in the Side suggested the I’m a Celebrity money was not withdrawn at the time of the Surrey house purchase.
A spokesperson for Farage said work on the first Kent planning application began in November 2023, “a long time before the unconditional gift was made.”
Open questions
Whether Farage broke parliamentary rules or had conflicts of interest regarding the £5m gift.
The exact source of funds for the Surrey house purchase, given conflicting accounts about the I’m a Celebrity fee.
Key figures
Nigel Farage, Reform leader and MP for Clacton
Anna Turley, Labour party chair
Christopher Harborne, Thailand-based crypto billionaire
Sources: The Guardian
