Farage ‘not scared’ of scrutiny over £5m crypto billionaire donation, Tice says

David Lynch, Press Association Political Correspondent

Nigel Farage is “not scared” of scrutiny, his deputy Richard Tice has said, amid questions about why the Reform UK leader has not appeared at a press conference since reports emerged that he received a £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire.

Mr Tice faced questions from journalists about the gift from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne, which is currently being investigated by Parliament’s standards commissioner.

Asked on Wednesday why Mr Farage had not appeared at one of Reform’s regular press conferences for nearly two months after reports of the gift emerged, Mr Tice suggested journalists had begun to “get bored of them” and attendance had slipped.

He added: “But in all seriousness, it’s part of this whole point about proving that we are a growing team with people across a range of different groups, and Nigel is absolutely determined that this idea that we are just a one man band is nonsense.”

Pressed directly whether the Reform leader was scared of scrutiny over the gift, Mr Tice replied: “I think one thing you can say over the last 30 years is that Nigel Farage is not scared.”

The Reform deputy leader said he was not aware of any other major gifts or donations to members of the party which were yet to be declared appropriately.

Mr Farage has given different explanations for the £5 million sum, including non-political purposes, to pay for his safety and security and later a “reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”.

The Reform UK leader had not declared it ahead of becoming an MP in July 2024, when he won his seat in Clacton on the Essex coast.

Parliamentary rules say any potentially “relevant interests” should be declared from the 12 months before becoming an MP.

Reform sources have suggested that revelations about the donation were linked to Mr Farage’s phone being hacked, which the party said was potentially the result of targeting by the Russian state.

Reported

Reform has claimed it had reported the hack to the “relevant authorities”, but did not disclose who this was.

Labour then reported it to the National Cyber Security Council and the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Tice declined to say who Reform had reported the claims to when asked by reporters on Wednesday.

He said: “I don’t think the right thing to do is to give a running commentary on it.

“That actually will probably just help our enemies.”