Nigel Farage’s controversial energy bills competition has come under fresh scrutiny after he was accused of handing over the prize to a couple he has been pictured with before.
The Reform UK leader announced the winner of the competition on Thursday, telling June from Wigan that the party would be paying for her entire street’s energy bills for a year.
In a video posted on social media, Mr Farage could be seen handing over flowers to the couple in their foyer, as the party’s treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick held a giant cheque.
Wigan’s local Reform UK branch posted the news on Facebook later, congratulating the pair of “staunch” branch members on their win.
But soon after, social media users claimed Mr Farage already knew the pair, as a picture appearing to show him standing behind the couple at a 2019 Brexit Party event resurfaced.
It is understood that the party followed the legal requirements of the competition, with a draw that picked June as the winner at random.
However, the Conservative Party accused Reform of having “tried to pull the wool over people’s eyes”, with Kemi Badenoch having reposted a post on X featuring the photo with a caption: “It must have been so weird to pretend they’ve never met.”
A Conservative spokesman said: “How odd for Nigel to have had to pretend he had never met these prominent members of his Party before.
“This staged interaction is far from the first time Reform have tried to pull the wool over people’s eyes.”
Reform UK launched the competition pledging to pay a street’s energy bills for a year last month.
Unveiling the draw, Mr Jenrick, told a press conference in London: “In the next week or two, we’re going to draw one of those names, and Nigel [Farage] is going to come to your house and he’s going to pay your energy bills and those of everyone who lives on your street for an entire year.”
The competition sparked calls for the information watchdog to investigate, after competitors were asked questions including who they voted for at the last general election and who they plan to back at the next.
In a video posted on X on Thursday, Mr Farage could be seen handing a large cheque for £1,758 to the couple in Wigan as they opened the door to their red-brick home.
At a launch of Reform’s local election campaign slogan the following day, Mr Farage also said he is “not the least bit worried” his party broke electoral rules.
Reform UK said it had been cleared by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).