The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is set to investigate whether Reform UK leader Nigel Farage breached Commons rules by accepting a £5m gift from billionaire donor Christopher Harborne and failing to declare it, the BBC has learned. Farage insists he was under "no obligation" to disclose the windfall because it arrived before he became an MP. However, his political rivals argue that the gift should have been logged in the MPs' register of interests upon his election in 2024.
The Conservatives have formally complained to the standards watchdog, which is now probing whether Farage violated the House of Commons code of conduct. That code requires new MPs to register all current financial interests and any registrable benefits received in the 12 months before their election within one month of taking office. It clarifies that "purely personal gifts" from family or commercial loans need not be registered, but adds that "both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered," with a note that "if there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered."
The Tories have also raised concerns with the Electoral Commission, which is "considering the information." So, to recap: a £5m gift, a possible motive, and a lot of doubt about whether it should have been registered - exactly the sort of ambiguity that never, ever causes problems in British politics.