Richard Tice being probed by Parliament's standards watchdog over 'failure to declare an interest' - as Reform's deputy leader blames 'anti-Israel lobby group'

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 14:26, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 14:33, 3 August 2026 Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice is being probed by Parliament's standards watchdog over an alleged failure to declare an interest. Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, has begun an investigation into whether Mr Tice breached the MPs' code of conduct. House of Commons' rules state that MPs must be 'open and frank' in declaring 'any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its committees', and in any communications with public office-holders and public officials. Mr Tice claimed the probe, which opened last week, was about a complaint by an 'anti-Israel lobby group'. Although he didn't name the group, he posted on X: 'Contrary to garbage in media: Standards Commissioner is considering complaint by antisemitic anti-Israel lobby group over whether I should have referenced my register of interests at start of a debate on UK democracy and Israeli influence.' Parliamentary records show that Mr Tice spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on 22 June about an online petition relating to 'pro-Israel influence on UK politics and democracy'. In the debate, Mr Tice did not declare that he had previously visited Israel in September last year for meetings with the country's president and foreign minister. His trip, estimated at a value of £6,250, was funded by Reform Friends of Israel, according to Mr Tice's register of interests. Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice is being probed by Parliament's standards watchdog over an alleged failure to declare an interest Reform sources said Mr Tice registered the trip with Commons' officials at the time, but confirmed he had not flagged it during the Westminster Hall debate. It comes after a separate parliamentary investigation was opened into Reform leader Nigel Farage's receipt of a £5million gift from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne before he was elected. The inquiry into Mr Farage was suspended after he triggered a by-election by resigning his Clacton seat, but would resume if he becomes an MP again. His main competition in the by-election contest is comedy candidate Count Binface after the other major political parties boycotted the poll and dismissed it as a 'stunt'. Labour said Mr Farage's party 'think the rules don't apply to them'. 'The Reform sleaze scandals continue to pile up,' a party spokesman added. The Liberal Democrats said voters deserve 'answers and transparency' from their politicians, not 'sleaze and scandal'. The party's deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: 'The rules on declaring interests in debates are there for good reason, but the bigger picture here is that Farage and Reform UK are still under investigation for receiving an undeclared £5million donation from a bitcoin billionaire.'