Fresh doubts are raised over Farage's claims he did not have to declare £5million 'gift' from crypto-currency tycoon

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 23:58, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 23:58, 9 July 2026 Fresh doubts have been raised over Nigel Farage's claim he did not have to declare a £5million 'gift' from a crypto–currency tycoon because he was not in politics at the time he received it. The Reform leader – who triggered a by–election in his own seat this week to prove voters still back him – was given the money by tech entrepreneur Christopher Harborne in April 2024, but it remained secret until this year. He insists he did not have to register it with the Commons authorities as it was a gift and he was not politically active at the time – two months before he announced he would stand at the snap general election. However, there is mounting evidence that Mr Farage had by then already agreed to stage a comeback. According to a new biography, he admitted back in December 2023 that he 'had a big decision to make' after commissioning focus group research on his popularity after appearing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. His key ally Richard Tice 'half–expected he'd come back straight away' while Mr Farage himself told ITV 'never say never' when he returned from 'the jungle'. In January 2024, his friend and former donor Arron Banks commissioned a survey that showed Mr Farage could beat a Conservative candidate in Clacton if he stood for Reform. And in April 2024, the same month that Mr Farage received the £5million donation, he is said to have privately agreed to return to frontline politics at a lunch in London. Fresh doubts have been raised over Nigel Farage's claim he did not have to declare a £5million 'gift' from a crypto–currency tycoon (file image) The Reform leader – who triggered a by–election in his own seat this week to prove voters still back him – was given the money by tech entrepreneur Christopher Harborne (pictured) Mr Tice told Lord Ashcroft for the new book: 'Nigel said he wanted to come back and I asked him if he was sure and told him he had to commit to five years. He said that was fine.' On May 1, Mr Farage was registered at Companies House as a 'person with significant control' over Reform UK Party Ltd. Even when he announced he would stand in Clacton, he admitted he had been thinking about it since the start of the year – and that Reform's existing candidate in the seat, Tony Mack, was aware of this. The Reform leader admitted he had been 'planning for months to do it'. Parliamentary rules require new MPs to register any 'benefit' received in the 12 months prior to their election. This includes any gift which exceeds £300 in value and is in 'any way' related to their political activities. If there is any doubt, the benefit should be declared, the rules state. The discrepancy has prompted other parties to refer the Reform leader to the parliamentary commissioner for standards. On Thursday night a Labour party spokesman told the Daily Mail: 'Anyone who believes Nigel Farage wasn't thinking about standing for Parliament before June 2024 must have been born yesterday. He was spending his time in the months before the election campaigning for Reform and raising his public profile.' Senior Tory MP Alex Burghart said: 'It is simply not plausible for Nigel Farage to claim he was not politically involved before June 2024 when videos posted on his own social media channels prominently featured Reform's logo.'