Richard Tice has been unable to say exactly when two crypto billionaires, who have donated £72m to Reform UK, actually returned to the UK.
Over the weekend, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne both announced separately that they would be giving £36m each to Nigel Farage’s party.
Delo said his donation would help Reform “prepare for government” and “spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms.”
Harborne described his donation as a “philanthropic gift to our country”.
But, along with anger and concerns over whether any British political party should be receiving such large donations in one go, some have asked whether the donations are even legal.
READ NEXT: Almost three-quarters of Brits think Farage and Reform UK are ‘sleazy’
There is a £100,000 cap on overseas donations to political parties, and earlier this year Keir Starmer’s government strengthened this by stating that individuals returning to the UK will be subject to the cap for at least a full calendar year to prevent the rules being dodged.
Harborne has been based in Thailand but is registered to vote in the UK, whilst Delo said earlier this year he was moving back to Britain from Hong Kong.
So, there are understandable questions over when exactly the pair moved back to the UK and whether they have lived here long enough to make their donations.
On Monday morning, Richard Tice was sent out to do the media rounds, and he didn’t seem able to provide much clarity on this.
On BBC Breakfast, he was asked by Sally Nugent when Delo moved back to the UK from Hong Kong.
Tice said he did not have the “specific date” but that “everything has been done within the rules.”
Nugent replied: “As the deputy leader of Reform UK though, is that not something you would check?”
Tice said that teams had checked the “vetting, verification and compliance” but that he “can’t do everything.”
Later in the morning, Tice was interviewed by Nick Robinson on the Today programme where he was asked the same question about Harborne and Delo’s residency.
Robinson asked him when Harborne had moved to the UK and whether he paid UK taxes on foreign earnings.
Reform’s deputy leader said he did not know what Harborne’s tax affairs were, with Robinson then repeatedly asking him when the billionaire moved to the UK.
Again, Tice didn’t have any specific details, saying: “I’m not familiar with every day of every week that these individuals spend in the country. We just know they’ve complied with the rules and regulations, both existing and proposed.”
Moving on to Delo, Robinson asked the same question.
Tice said he understood it was “many many months ago” that he had moved back to the UK.
When Tice asked Robinson and listeners to simply trust his words, the journalist hit back: “I don’t trust any statement by politicians wanting to bank tens of millions of pounds, I need evidence and I think most people listening will.”