Nigel Farage is under pressure to come clean about his finances tonight after quitting as an MP, triggering a by-election and vowing to let voters ‘be the judges of my actions’.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was among those who questioned the decision by the Reform leader to resign his Clacton seat amid official probes into cash and financial assistance from two wealthy allies.
Mr Farage said he would seek a fresh mandate from voters as he let rip – but did not take questions – about claims about his private finances that have triggered official Parliamentary investigations.
He has been reported to authorities over reports that long-term ally George Cottrell – a convicted fraudster known as ‘Posh George’ – provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected, as well as the use of a Westminster house.
Parliament’s standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is already investigating a £5million gift the MP received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.
In a more than 20 minute address on social media this afternoon Mr Farage said he had ‘never been angrier’ and claimed to be the most vilified UK politician of recent times.
He has denied any wrongdoing and claimed he is the target of a ‘stitch-up’ – a claim endorsed last night by US president Donald Trump.
But this afternoon Mrs Badenoch accused him of ‘cracking under pressure’ and told him to ‘man up’ and answer the questions he is facing instead of triggering an ‘ego by-election’.
She said the Tories will not stand a candidate ‘in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening’, adding: ‘We’re going to focus on getting Britain working again and showing some common sense, not throwing random by-elections out because we’re having a hissy fit.’
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was among those who questioned the decision by the Reform leader to resign his Clacton seat amid official probes into cash and financial assistance from two wealthy allies
The Reform leader lashed out at the ‘establishment’ as he announced he would step down from his Clacton seat and seek a fresh mandate from voters in Essex
Mr Farage won Clacton with a majority of 8,405 in 2024, with the Conservatives a distant second.
Parliamentary rules mean his decision to resign his seat and trigger the by-election suspends the investigations, though it would restart if he is re-elected, potentially setting up a second by-election in the autumn or winter if it finds against him.
Restore leader Rupert Lowe also said his party would not put up a candidate, while PM Sir Keir Starmer said it was ‘a desperate stunt’ from a man ‘up to his neck in sleaze’.
Former Labour minister Anneliese Dodds told Times Radio it was a ‘matter for the NEC’ – who are meeting this evening – whether it had a candidate, while the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey called for a boycott of what he said was a ‘vanity project’.
In his lengthy and wide-ranging televised address Mr Farage protested his innocence, saying he had ‘done nothing wrong… I have not broken the law in any way at all’.
‘Now I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by-election,’ he said.
‘It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire Establishment to frankly tell them where to go, and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election… I will fight to win.’
The Sunday Times reported this weekend that Mr Cottrell, who has a fraud conviction in the United States, provided funding for staffing and security, and the use of a London townhouse.
Critics have said that this should have been declared under Parliamentary rules in place at the time of Mr Farage’s election in 2024, under which new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift ‘could not be reasonably thought by others’ to relate to their political activities.
Mr Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the General Election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.
Nigel Farage is under the heaviest pressure he has faced in his time as Reform leader following reports that long-term ally George Cottrell had provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected
If the probe finds against the Reform leader and suspends him from the Commons for more than 30 days he would be subject to a recall petition by voters, which could trigger the second by-election.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have already demanded a parliamentary sleaze inquiry into the latest claims.
Mr Farage insisted his £5million gift from Christopher Harborne was given to him on an ‘unconditional basis’.
He criticised the Sunday Times investigation into his finances, saying: ‘Standards are now being used as a political tool.
‘On the gift, it was given to me on an unconditional basis. I can do with that money exactly as I wish, but there is a much bigger reason why I’m going to need that money, and it’s simply this,’ he said.
‘For over 20 years now, I have been subject to constant demonisation by the Press for daring to be outside the consensual view on many issues.
‘I’ve been attacked again and again. I am the most physically and verbally attacked public figure or politician of modern times.
‘Yes, you will know of some of the incidents, milkshakes thrown in my face, placards bashed over my head, but let me promise you, you only know about a fraction of the number of times that I’ve been assaulted.’
It came after he Mr Farage clashed with a Sky TV crew as he returned to Britain from the United States last night.
Mr Farage reacted angrily when asked whether it had been a mistake not to declare the gifts, saying: ‘You tell your bosses, you harass my family any more… serious consequences. That’s what your organisation has done this morning. Go away.’
Sky said it had not contacted anyone from Mr Farage’s family about the story.
He did manage to win the backing of Donald Trump last night after his transatlantic trip. The US President, a long-term ally, appeared to echo his claim that he is the victim of an ‘establishment hit job’.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump shared a link to an article on The National Pulse website titled ‘They’re Running the 2024 Anti-Trump Playbook on Nigel Farage’.
The article accuses the UK media of giving far more coverage to ‘every gaffe, controversy, or disagreement’ by Farage and Reform, while ‘policy successes or growing voter support are frequently downplayed’.
Mr Trump personally called Mr Farage to congratulate him on his political success in achieving the removal of Sir Keir Starmer from No10, The Times reported.
