STORY
Nigel Farage is facing renewed questions over a £5 million gift from a Reform UK backer after a series of broadcast interviews in which he declined to give detailed answers about how the money had been used. The Reform UK leader has said the payment was an unconditional private gift and has rejected suggestions that he is required to explain his spending.
The matter is being examined by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, with questions focused on whether the gift should have been declared under the rules applying to MPs. Farage has offered different explanations for the payment, including that it was linked to personal security and that it recognised his work on Brexit.
Labour has also asked the police and the National Cyber Security Centre to examine Farage’s claim that information about the gift became public because of a Russian-linked hack. Farage has not reported the matter himself and has accused critics of intruding into a private financial arrangement.