UK’s Farage to make statement on future in public life

British politician Nigel Farage is to make a statement about his future in public life as the populist Reform UK leader faces intense scrutiny over funding.

Farage, a leading campaigner for Brexit, is one of the most influential politicians in modern British history.

The Reform party has topped almost every national opinion poll for more than a year and won local elections, posing a threat to the century-old dominance of the Labor and Conservative parties.

But Farage appeared angry and agitated in recent weeks after it was revealed that he had accepted a gift worth Stg5 million (US$9.6 million) from a billionaire crypto investor and failed to disclose it.

He is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog over the Stg5 million donation and has also been referred to the regulator over a report into separate donations.

“I will be making a statement about my future in public life at 2pm (11pm AEST),” Farage said in a post on X on Tuesday.

The revelation of the donation led to intense scrutiny of Farage’s finances and properties.

Recently, he had been complaining about reporters harassing his family and interfering with the press.

Farage could be removed from the House of Commons if he is found to have seriously breached parliament’s disclosure rules.

A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition and potentially lead to a by-election in the parliamentary seat.

Farage served as leader of the UK Independence Party and resigned after the 2016 Brexit referendum, saying his political goal had been achieved.

He later returned and founded the Brexit Party, which was later rebranded as Reform UK.