Nigel Farage has said Reform UK would “gladly” accept more funds from Christopher Harborne, despite being investigated by the Commons sleaze watchdog for failing to declare a £5m gift from the crypto-billionaire.
The Reform UK leader has faced scrutiny in recent weeks over the multimillion-pound donation from Mr Harborne, made weeks before Mr Farage stood in the 2024 general election.
Mr Harborne’s donations to Mr Farage and Reform UK have been a subject of particular controversy for the party, after he gifted it £9m last August – the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person – and a further £3m this year.
The Thailand-based entrepreneur has now reportedly registered to vote in the UK, potentially allowing him to avoid a cap on overseas donations to political parties.
Mr Farage said he was “pleased” about the development on Monday, and ssked if Reform UK would accept further donations from Mr Harborne if they were offered, he said: “Gladly. Of course.”
Speaking ahead of a rally at the Holiday Inn Norwich North on Monday evening, he continued: “Of course we would and we’re very pleased he (Mr Harborne) has re-registered back in the UK.”
Mr Farage’s recent disclosure of the £5m “gift” from the crypto entrepreneur has prompted an investigation by Westminster’s standards watchdog into whether Mr Farage broke Commons rules by not declaring it after his election in 2024.
If the probe finds he committed a serious breach of parliament’s rules, he could be suspended from the Commons. A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, which could potentially see him forced to fight his Clacton seat again.
Mr Farage has previously insisted the £5m gift was given to pay for private security for the rest of his life, but also later claimed it was a “reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”.
Last week, he insisted “no one cares” about the money, and when asked by BBC Breakfast how much of the gift he had spent, he said: “It’s none of your business.”
“I’m absolutely convinced I’ve done nothing wrong in any way at all,” he said, adding he did not regret failing to declare the donation at the time.
Asked if he had given an interview about the possibility of becoming an MP before accepting the gift, Mr Farage said: “Yeah. And after that I said, after that I said, ‘I will not stand in this election’. And I was pretty clear when a snap election was called that I wasn’t going to do it. I did change my mind subsequently.”