Britain’s Farage denies rules broken after report of undeclared benefits

LONDON - A spokesman for British politician Nigel Farage has denied allegations that the Reform UK leader may have broken parliamentary rules after the Sunday Times reported he had not declared some benefits provided to him.

Farage is already under investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog over whether he should have declared a £5 million (S$8.62 million) donation from a cryptocurrency billionaire he received before entering Parliament.

The Sunday Times reported that, in the year before his election, Farage was provided with security services, social media support and accommodation by George Cottrell, a long-standing ally, who in 2017 went to prison in the United States after pleading guilty to wire fraud.

The newspaper said Cottrell was also involved in cryptocurrency.

Farage’s spokesperson said the story was “baseless and contrived”.

“Contrary to the story’s tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken,” he said.

The right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party tops national opinion polls, making Farage a possible future prime minister after a 2029 election, and raising scrutiny of the party and leader’s finances.

Under parliamentary rules, new MPs must declare financial interests and “registrable benefits” received in the previous 12 months, although personal gifts are exempt.

“I think quite a lot of questions come up in relation to his (Farage’s) finances. He seems to have a bit of a flexible relationship with transparency,” Britain’s health minister James Murray told the BBC on July 5.

Farage has said the £5 million he received from Thailand-based crypto investor Christopher Harborne before he announced he would stand as an MP in 2024, was an unconditional gift and exempt from disclosure rules.

He has also said the money was intended to fund his personal security.

The donation was not publicly disclosed until reported by a newspaper in April.

Farage is awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation.

If he is found to have committed a serious breach of parliamentary disclosure rules, he could be suspended from the House of Commons.

A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, potentially forcing a by-election in his constituency. REUTERS