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Farage says £5m gift spending details 'not public's business'

Image source, Reuters

By Richard Wheeler

Political reporter

Published 23 June 2026, 12:42 BST

Updated 3 minutes ago

Nigel Farage has said "it's not the public's business" to know details of how he spends a £5m gift from a billionaire Reform UK donor.

Speaking to the BBC, the Reform leader said the money from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne was an "unconditional gift, I can spend it on cars if I want to".

He went on to say the money was for his personal security and he will need protection "until the day that I die", but declined to confirm how much he has spent.

Farage has argued he did not need to declare the gift because he received it before he was elected as Clacton MP and it was not political. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is investigating whether he broke the rules.

Labour and other rival parties believe Farage has questions to answer over the gift received in early 2024.

The Commons code of conduct 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 within one month of their election".

The rules say "purely personal gifts or benefits" from family or commercial loans would not normally have to be registered.

The rules 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".

Farage replied "I have not" when asked on ITV's Good Morning Britain for details of what he had spent the money on.

Asked on BBC Breakfast to clarify what the money was for, Farage spoke about the threats to his personal safety and said "most times" the state had refused his requests for help.

On how much of the money he has spent, Farage replied: "It's literally none of your business.

"If I'd given it to charity, the truth is I haven't, I know what it's for."

Pressed on whether he has spent any of the money, Farage repeated it is "none of your business" before asking presenter Sally Nugent how much of her salary had been spent on petrol and beer.

Told it was the public's business to know, Farage replied: "No, it's not the public's business."

Asked again to say how much of the £5m has been spent on security, Farage said: "No, I'm not going to answer that deliberately, wilfully.

"It's not your business at the BBC to put me in danger therefore I will not answer it."

Nugent replied "we're not putting you in any danger at all", with Farage saying: "If I answer that question you are, so I won't."

Figure caption,

Watch: Farage quizzed over a £5m gift from a billionaire Reform UK donor

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Farage was asked if he would give the money back and replied by asking presenter Nick Robinson if he would give his salary to charity.

Asked again about whether he would give the money back, Farage said: "What on earth has that got to do with you?

"If I did it'd be a purely private matter as the money was in the first place."

Farage also rejected the idea that the gift contributed to Reform's candidate finishing second to Labour's Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election, noting "only one person" raised it with him during the campaign.

He told BBC Breakfast he is "absolutely convinced I've done nothing wrong in any way at all" and he has "taken zero in personal expenses" since being elected in July 2024.

Farage added: "I'm very careful and very cautious about these things. I believe it to be a wholly private matter, the standards commissioner may take a different view."

'Reward for Brexit'

In May 2024, Farage 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 this position at the beginning of June and took over the leadership of the party.

Farage acknowledged he had done an interview about the possibility of becoming an MP and then he had accepted the gift.

He told the BBC: "And after that I said I will not stand in this election. I was pretty clear when a snap election was called that I wasn't going to do it, I did change my mind subsequently."

In a Telegraph interview, external in April, Farage said Harborne had given him the money in early 2024 to pay for his security.

He later told The Sun, external that the gift, which was investigated by The Guardian newspaper, external, was a "reward for campaigning for Brexit" and that he "cannot be bought by anybody".

On Tuesday, the Liberal Democrats launched a billboard to mark the 10th anniversary of voters supporting Brexit in which they referenced Farage's £5m gift.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Nigel Farage pocketed a £5 million 'reward' for the damage he's caused, while the rest of us are paying for it dearly."

Harborne, who lives in Thailand, in April told The Telegraph that he "wasn't expecting anything in return apart from ensuring his safety" when referring to the gift.

Harborne also said he gave the money to Farage "because of my great admiration for the decades of work he had done to achieve Brexit".

He last year gave a single donation of £9m to Reform UK.

The Conservatives wrote to Parliament's standards watchdog and the Electoral Commission about the £5m gift.

Farage received £5m from donor before he became MP

*   Published 29 April

Farage faces standards probe into £5m gift from crypto billionaire

*   Published 13 May

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Farage says £5m gift spending details 'not public's business'

Farage says £5m gift spending details 'not public's business'

'Reward for Brexit'

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