Nigel Farage faces inquiry over £5m gift from crypto billionaire
Nigel Farage is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.The Reform UK leader received the money weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election.Farage has said the gift, first revealed by the Guardian, was intended to cover his personal security costs and therefore did not need to be declared.However, other parties argue that the money from the Thailand-based businessman falls within rules requiring MPs to declare any potentially relevant gifts or donations received in the 12 months before entering parliament.Daniel Greenbergh, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, is understood to have begun an investigation under rule 5 of the code of conduct obliging MPs to “fulfil conscientiously” requirements relating to their registration of interests.
It states that new MPs must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election,This must be done within one month of their election, and they must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days,If the investigation finds Farage committed a particularly serious breach of parliamentary declaration rules, he could be suspended from the Commons,A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, potentially forcing him to fight again for his Clacton seat,There is no fixed timetable for investigations by the commissioner as individual cases vary in complexity.
A speech Farage was to give on Thursday evening to supporters in Sunderland, a key target for Reform, was “temporarily postponed” by the party after the investigation was announced.Reform said the reason for the postponement was “the chaos in government and an impending Labour leadership race”.However, news of the investigation has overshadowed attempts by the party to capitalise on its historic breakthrough in the elections last week.A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Mr Farage’s office is in communications with the parliamentary commissioner for standards.He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken.
We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.”Farage also faces the prospect of a second inquiry after the Electoral Commission – the independent body that oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK – received a complaint from the Conservatives over the £5m from Harborne.The elections watchdog has told the Tories it is considering the complaint and will respond by the end of the week.It had said earlier that it would respond to the Conservatives by 12 May, after the elections in Scotland, Wales and parts of England.A Conservative party spokesperson said: “£5m is an enormous amount, more than most people will earn in a lifetime.
Nigel Farage needs to explain how he got it, why he got it, and why he didn’t declare it.If there is a simple answer then he should welcome these investigations.But like so often with Reform, there is something very fishy about the whole story.”Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, said after news of the standards inquiry broke: “Nigel Farage has been avoiding legitimate questions since news of his billionaire backer’s ‘gift’.It’s right that he faces a proper investigation.
Farage and Reform clearly believe it’s one rule for them, and another for everyone else,”Harborne has become a pivotal figure in British politics, bankrolling Farage personally and the parties he has led over the past seven years,Last year, the businessman donated £9m to Reform UK, the largest single donation by a living person to a British political party,In total, he gave £12m to the party in 2025,Asked about the gift on the BBC, one of Reform’s MPs, Danny Kruger, reiterated the party’s position on Wednesday that the money was a not a political donation.
“It was made before he was an MP, before he was back in politics,He has explained it,This was a gift made directly to Nigel and he has explained he will be using that money to pay for his own security, which the government does not pay for,“He is a high-risk politician and for the rest of his life he is going to need very expensive security and he has that now funded personally,”
‘Hold the line’: Burnham tells allies in parliament he still has options to return
Andy Burnham has told Labour MPs they should hold the line and that he has options to return to parliament after several seats identified by his allies failed to materialise.Two seats that backers of the Greater Manchester mayor had described as “nailed on” as recently as Monday night are now out of contention after the MPs concerned got cold feet.Burnham spoke to a number of MPs by phone on Tuesday and assured them that he still intended to seek an imminent return to parliament.The Guardian was told by two MPs on Wednesday that Jeff Smith, who represents Manchester Withington, an affluent suburb of the city, was in talks about stepping aside for Burnham, but his friends denied it. Asked whether he was about to make way, Smith told the Press Association he was not
‘It’s more incrementalism’: Starmer’s safe king’s speech fails to quell mutiny
For Keir Starmer’s Labour critics, his second king’s speech, in which the government set out what it would do in parliament over the next 12 to 18 months, was a crystallisation of everything that was wrong with the prime minister’s strategy.Over 34 bills and three draft ones, Starmer set out a programme he said would “make this country stronger and fairer”. But the package, which included limiting trial by jury, reshaping the NHS and moving the country closer to the EU, fell short of what some in the prime minister’s party feel is needed to win back voters’ trust.“Most of this is incrementalism,” said one Labour MP. “This sums up where we have gone wrong in the first two years in government
Starmer has ‘full confidence’ in Streeting despite health secretary’s allies saying he is planning to resign – as it happened
Downing Street has now confirmed that Wes Streeting is still health secretary. The PM’s spokesperson told reporters the prime minister has “full confidence” in the health secretary.Allies of Wes Streeting have said he is preparing to stand down as health secretary amid deep frustration with Keir Starmer’s leadership, and could mount a formal challenge for the leadership as early as Thursday.Keir Starmer has put long-promised changes to education, health and the courts at the heart of his agenda for the next year, as the embattled prime minister looks to prove he can enact the scale of change being demanded by Labour MPs and voters. There were 37 bills in the speech
Labour politicians should put the country before their party | Letters
As an active and loyal Labour member, I am infuriated by what is happening within the party (Burnham allies warn against quick ‘coronation’ of Streeting if Starmer quits, 12 May). The ongoing circus about the leadership is a terrible distraction from the numerous global and national issues that the government and the prime minister should be focused on. But the most infuriating aspect of the entire shambles is the relentless speculation and briefings from so-called “allies” of Andy Burham.No Labour member has an innate right to be selected as a parliamentary candidate. The assertion that a sitting Labour MP should give up the seat voters elected them to, necessitating a byelection so that Burnham can run, then assuming that he would automatically retain the seat, is arrogance beyond belief
Labour lost the vote of small business owners like me | Letter
Your report (Reform wins across northern England overturn decades of Labour control, 8 May) touched on Labour losing support among small business owners. I wanted to offer the perspective of a small independent business owner who has traditionally supported Labour.Labour’s poor local election results may reflect a growing frustration among small business owners who no longer feel recognised as “working people”. In hospitality, hair and beauty, retail and trades, there are thousands upon thousands of us keeping local economies alive while taking home increasingly modest incomes ourselves.Last year, our small independent restaurant in Margate turned over roughly £350,000
King’s speech might be the last word on Starmer as reluctant monarch does his duty | John Crace
The king looked fed up. His attempts to throw a sickie had come to nothing. Did the government really want to go ahead with the state opening? Apparently it did. Would it be OK if he phoned it in? He fancied a day working from palace. It wouldn’t be OK
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