Farage referred to watchdog over £5m ‘gift’ from Thai-based British crypto billionaire

Nigel Farage has been referred to the Parliamentary standards watchdog after admitting he received a £5 million donation from a Thai billionaire to improve his security.

The Reform UK leader said he received a seven-figure donation from Christopher Harborne, a British citizen living in Thailand, who helped finance Brexit in 2024.

Mr Farage was criticized for failing to disclose the latest donation, given weeks before he announced he would stand in the general election.

The Conservatives have now referred him to the Parliamentary standards watchdog over the gift, which they say should have been reported to the Commons earlier.

“This money was given to me so that I could be safe and secure for the rest of my life,” Mr Farage said. Telegram.

“I have tried to have security funded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the past but failed and I don’t think the state will ever help me.

“I am very lonely and will be for the rest of my life, and I have to face this cruel truth.

“Christopher is an ardent supporter who is deeply concerned about my safety.”

Mr Harborne’s donations to Mr Farage and Reform UK have been a particular bone of contention for the party after he gifted the party a record-breaking £9 million last August and a further £3 million this year.

Mr Harborne’s separate £5 million gift to Mr Farage was not taxed or declared to parliamentary authorities because it was not considered a political donation. Telegram.

But Labor leader Anna Turley described the donation as “the latest worrying example of Farage and his MPs believing there are one rule for them and another for everyone else”.

Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said Mr Farage, as a new MP, would have to report all political donations and gifts he had received over the previous 12 months.

“He didn’t,” he said. “That is why the Conservatives are today referring Nigel Farage to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.”

The Reform leader is frequently harassed in public and is known to have had a milkshake thrown at him while campaigning in his current constituency of Clacton-on-Sea ahead of the 2024 general election.

He also revealed that he was the victim of a firebomb attack on his home in 2025. Telegram: “This was a complete arson attempt.”

While police are investigating the attack, the suspect has not yet been identified, he said.

He added: “I wasn’t at home at the time but when I returned and opened the door I found the damage. Luckily the porch had been burnt and we think the perpetrators may have been disturbed by the incident. The police were on top of everything. They did their best but so far there are no suspects.”

MP security has been a hotly debated issue in recent years, with calls for action and greater security increasing following the murders of Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021.

“I am acutely aware of the love for myself, but equally of the levels of antipathy that exist,” Mr Farage said.

“Sometimes things happen when there are cameras there, but there are also many times when things don’t make the news, like a beer glass being thrown at me or my house being attacked.

“I also had to cancel a car because it was attacked by protesters while I was in it.

“I would prefer not to discuss any of this, but I have to because someone has obtained what I believe to be very unsavory and illegally obtained material relating to my private finances.”

Mr Farage also described the online threats he had received and claimed he reported them to the police but received no response.

He added: “There are also online threats encouraging the use of violence against me, which we have reported to the police on a number of occasions, to which I understand we have received no response, and the outright refusal of the British state to assist me.”

Independent Reform UK has been contacted for comment.

Guard It said Mr Farage received the gift from the billionaire weeks before he announced he would run for Clacton-on-Sea and therefore did not need to declare it to the Electoral Commission.

But Reform disputed that statement, saying Mr Farage announced he would not run as an MP after receiving the money, then changed his mind.