Nigel Farage bought £1.4m house with cash from I’m a Celebrity, claims Reform

Reform UK says Nigel Farage bought a £1.4m property using his own funds I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! appearance.

The party said the purchase was completed in May 2024, just weeks before he stands as a candidate in the general election.

Mr Farage appeared in the ITV reality series in November 2023.

Reports suggest he earned a fee of £1.5 million for the show, in which he came third.

Sky News reported on Thursday that the Reform England leader bought the house in 2024, shortly after receiving a £5 million personal gift from billionaire donor Christopher Harborne.

Mr Farage insisted there was no link between the gift from Mr Harborne, a Thailand-based crypto investor and major donor to Reform UK, and the property purchase.

A Reform UK spokesman said: “The relevant chronology is clear. The bidding and purchasing process for the property began before the gift.”

“Mr Farage had already passed proof of funds and relevant checks before receiving the gift. The purchase was therefore already proceeding independently of him.”

Mr Farage wrote on X on Thursday: “This is fake news from the establishment media who will do anything to damage Reformation as we challenge their genuine consensus.

“I had passed the proof of funds and relevant checks before receiving the gift.

“Sky News did not publish this part of our statement despite knowing the truth.”

Reform UK is understood to be considering legal options in response to the report.

Mr Farage faces an investigation by the House of Commons’ indecency watchdog over an undisclosed £5m donation, which he has previously said “is not a case to answer”.

The Reform Britain leader said the gift was not linked to his political activities and that he would be required to pay for private security for the rest of his life.

It is understood Mr Farage was referred to Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg and the watchdog launched an investigation under rule five of MPs’ code of conduct.

This rule states that new MPs must register, within one month of entering Parliament, any relevant financial benefits they received in the 12 months before their election.

In an interview with Sun Speaking to the newspaper, Mr Farage said the gift was given “completely unconditionally”, adding: “Obviously it was given as a reward for our 27 years of campaigning for Brexit.”

When it was suggested the gift might have influenced his decision to return to public life, Mr Farage said: “No one should be able to buy me, not even Elon Musk.”

Reports had previously suggested the donation to Reform could have been made through a branch of Mr Musk’s company X, but relations between Mr Farage and the tech billionaire have since cooled.

Mr Farage said in the interview: “He wanted to give us a large sum of money if I said things publicly and I refused.

“I didn’t do this to antagonize Elon Musk, but it shows you that I’m my own man. I make my own decisions.”

In 2018, it was reported that Farage had been deducted £35,000 (half his monthly salary as a member of the European Parliament) following allegations that he had mis-spent EU funds.

The BBC said an investigation was launched against the office assistant due to accusations that she was not working on EU issues.