A Reform UK adviser has said the party is expecting a “harsh verdict” against Nigel Farage in the parliamentary standards investigation into him.
Parliament’s standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg continues to carry out an investigation into Farage over whether he should have declared a £5m sum from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne when the Reform UK leader became an MP in July 2024.
Under Commons rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where it “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.
Farage has already been interviewed by Greenberg for the investigation, with an outcome expected soon.
But it sounds like Reform are preparing for the worst. Farage himself is laying the groundwork for the probe to find against him, and now it seems the entire party is expecting the same.
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Speaking to the Financial Times, a Reform UK adviser said “the expectation is a harsh verdict but as to timing, that appears in the lap of the gods.”
Farage has said the money from Harborne, which he received in April 2024, was so that he could pay for security for the rest of his life. He also described the money as a “reward” for his Brexit campaigning.
The Clacton MP denies any wrongdoing.
Should the standards commissioner find a “serious breach” of the rules has occurred, the case will be referred to the Committee on Standards.
The Committee on Standards could then sanction him by suspending him from the House for 10 sitting days or more. This could then result in a re-call petition and another Clacton by-election.