No obligation to declare £5m gift, Farage says

No obligation to declare £5m gift, Farage says8 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJoshua NevettPolitical reporterBBCReform UK leader Nigel Farage has said there was "no obligation" to declare a £5m gift he received from a billionaire backer before he became an MP.In a Telegraph interview last week, Farage revealed that in early 2024, Reform UK donor Christopher Harborne had given him the money to pay for his security.Labour and other rival parties have accused Farage of breaking parliamentary rules by not declaring the £5m gift in the register of interests for MPs - and the Conservatives have referred the Reform UK leader to the parliamentary standards commissioner.But speaking to broadcasters on Tuesday, Farage said the £5m gift was "purely private" and "wasn't political in any sense at all"."The rules are very clear," Farage said. "And believe you me, we've looked at this from every legal angle, there is no obligation to declare something that is an unconditional, non-political, personal gift."And it will ensure I can be safe for the rest of my life."Harborne's £5m gift to Farage, which was investigated by the Guardian newspaper, was given to him in early 2024 ahead of the general election that year, and it does not appear on his register of interests.Reform UK sources say Farage received the money before he intended to stand for Parliament.Last week, Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said Farage "appears to have broken the rules again by failing to declare this cash from his billionaire backer".The House of 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 regis...