"Nigel Farage has repeatedly refused to answer questions about a personal gift of 5m he received from the billionaire Christopher Harborne, as the Reform UK leader sought on Friday to focus attention on the party's election gains. Farage was clearly irritated when asked on a number of occasions on Friday about the money, which the Guardian revealed he had received shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 general election and which was not declared. Yeah yeah, well we'll talk about that any other time that you'd like, Farage said, when asked as he celebrated Reform's capture of its first London council, in Havering."
"The Electoral Commission said last week that it was considering whether to investigate the undisclosed 5m gift after the Conservatives urged the watchdog to initiate an investigation. The party has also written to the parliamentary commissioner, citing rules that require MPs to declare any personal benefit they have received in the 12 months before taking office, and to do so within a month of being elected. The gift from Harborne, a Thailand-based crypto billionaire who has become a big donor to Reform, fell within that period."
"Some personal gifts are exempt from the reporting rules if they could not reasonably be thought by others to be related to the membership of the house or to the member's parliamentary or political activities, according to the code of conduct and rules for MPs. The rules add: Both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered. If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered."
"In an interview with LBC Radio on Friday, Farage declined to discuss the money when the matter was raised, telling the broadcaster Nick Ferrari: If you want to have a discussion with me at some point about illegally obtained information that"
Nigel Farage repeatedly declined to answer questions about a £5m personal gift from billionaire Christopher Harborne. The gift was reported as received shortly before Farage announced he would stand in the 2024 general election and was not declared. The Electoral Commission is considering whether to investigate after the Conservatives urged it to do so. Reform UK has written to the parliamentary commissioner, citing rules requiring MPs to declare personal benefits received in the 12 months before taking office and within a month of being elected. Some personal gifts may be exempt if they could not reasonably be thought related to parliamentary or political activities, with motive and intended use considered and any doubt requiring registration. Farage also declined to discuss the matter when raised on LBC Radio.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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