Nigel Farage was left squirming as he was grilled by the BBC’s Sally Nugent over the secret £5m gift he received from a crypto billionaire.
What with all the drama following Andy Burnham’s Makerfield win and Keir Starmer’s resignation, you’d have been forgiven for maybe forgetting about the £5m sum that Farage received from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne just weeks before he decided to run as an MP in the 2024 general election.
But thanks to the BBC’s Sally Nugent, everyone should now once again have it at the forefront of their minds.
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As Farage appeared on BBC Breakfast for an interview on Tuesday morning, Nugent asked whether he believed Reform’s humbling in Makerfield was anything to do with the controversy over the £5m gift.
When the Clacton MP laughably claimed that “no one cares about from the media” about the story, Nugent helpfully pointed out to him that clearly the Parliamentary Standards Watchdog cares as they are investigating it.
Farage protested his innocence, before Nugent took him to task over his varying claims about what the gift from Harborne was for.
The Reform leader repeated that he had used the gift to pay for his personal security. So, Nugent then justifiably asked Farage how much of the sum he had spent.
Farage didn’t like this, hitting back that it is “none of your business” before trying to turn the tables on Nugent by asking her what she spends her salary on.
The BBC Breakfast rightfully replied that it is clearly the business of the public if an elected representative of the people is being investigated for potentially breaching parliamentary standards.
“How much of that money have you spent on security so far,” she asked. Farage decided not to reveal this, before claiming doing so would put him in danger.
When Nugent asked if Farage now wished he had declared the money when he became an MP, he replied: “No.”
Farage then accused the media of ‘obsessing’ about the gift, and claimed “only one person” raised the issue with him during Makerfield campaigning.
As Nugent asked how everyday people could relate to a man who has £5m sitting in his back pocket, Farage hit back that they wouldn’t be able to relate to the BBC presenter’s salary.
Nugent then pointed out that her salary is on the public record and was not being kept secret, unlike Farage’s millions.
On social media, many praised Nugent for her questioning, with some labelling it a “car crash” interview from Farage.