James O’Brien has expressed his bafflement at the tabloid coverage – or rather, the lack of it – that Nigel Farage’s undeclared £5m gift has received.
Last week, the Guardian revealed that Farage had been given £5m from by British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne, who is based in Thailand and has since donated millions to Reform UK.
The money was handed to Farage in early 2024, just weeks before he announced his U-turn decision to stand as an MP in that year’s general election.
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Farage also did not declare the sum of money.
But although huge questions remain over gift, which Farage claims was to help provide him with personal protection, the right-wing tabloids have seemingly decided to swerve the topic.
This is in stark contrast to back in 2024 when the same papers kicked up an almighty media storm over Labour figures not declaring gifts such as glasses and concert tickets – of a considerably lower value than £5m.
The issue was raised by James O’Brien on his LBC show this week, with the journalist unable to contain his astonishment at the press’s silence on Farage’s gift.
O’Brien argued that the scale of the donation should be dominating front pages and prompting serious questions about transparency and influence in public life, particularly for Farage and Reform.
Instead, he implied, parts of the press were either downplaying or avoiding the story altogether.
“Sometimes, you look at the juxtaposition of the coverage of certain stories and you just wonder whether you are actually part of something truly hideous,” he said.
After comparing the differing coverage between Farage’s gift and that of Keir Starmer’s gifted spectacles in 2024, O’Brien continued: “If I had woken up today after being asleep for only 10 years, and you presented me with these two stories and the utter, utter chasm in coverage, I would not believe you.”
“I would have thought that British journalism was better than that,” he added.