STORY
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is facing renewed political pressure over his financial affairs after resigning as the MP for Clacton and announcing that he will seek immediate re-election. Farage said the by-election would allow voters in the Essex constituency to judge him directly following weeks of scrutiny over gifts and financial support he is alleged not to have declared.
Labour called on Farage to provide full details of a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency businessman Christopher Harborne after reports that banks had raised money laundering concerns with the National Crime Agency. Farage denies wrongdoing and has described the allegations and the parliamentary standards investigation as part of a political campaign against him.
Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said they will not contest the by-election, describing it as a publicity exercise rather than a necessary electoral contest. The parliamentary inquiry could resume if Farage returns to the Commons, while opposition parties said resigning his seat should not prevent continued scrutiny of the allegations.