Reform UK braces for Farage standards verdict over undeclared £5m gift
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Nigel Farage’s Reform is braced for a negative report from the standards commissioner over his failure to declare a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and plans to appeal against any adverse findings.
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The party is on tenterhooks over the report, with multiple Reform insiders saying they are readying for a fightback through the appeals process and fully expect the initial verdict to find against their leader.
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Any attempt by Farage to oppose a negative verdict could mean the process drags on for months, as an MP under investigation has the right to present further evidence to the standards committee as well as to appeal through the independent expert panel.
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After any appeals process, and if parliament agrees with a penalty of more than 10 days of suspension from the House of Commons, Farage could end up facing a second byelection in his Clacton constituency. This would require a recall petition, triggered by signatures from 10% of voters in the MP’s constituency over six weeks.
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Farage was interviewed by the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, last month and the party expects to be notified of the verdict at any time.
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While it awaits the findings, Reform has been overhauling its HQ operations, having been destabilised by undercover investigations by Channel 4 and ITV in recent weeks and fallen in the polls.
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The Channel 4 reporting with the investigative group Verbatim has led to a police inquiry into alleged attempts to orchestrate illegal overseas donations, as well as the suspension of James Orr as head of policy and Dan Jukes as Farage’s communications chief. They deny wrongdoing and an internal party report has cleared them, but the matter remains under police investigation.
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The ITV reporting uncovered racist councillors and election candidates for the party caught on film making graphic threats of extreme violence and expressing racist and misogynistic views.
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One Reform insider said the ITV documentary in particular was extremely bad and showed the party’s vetting had not been up to scratch, despite its claims to have professionalised.
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But they said the party was well on its way to bringing in changes in its organisation.
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Harvey Griffiths, Reform’s new treasurer, has been taking a central role in handling day-to-day party business, while Tom Waterhouse, its general secretary, has taken on the role of getting to grips with vetting. There have also been departures.
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Aaron Lobo, its former head of operations, has moved to a new role running a Reform-focused TV channel, which is hiring dozens of “journalists” to increase communications directly to voters. Amar Johal, a former government lawyer who had been working for the party as head of policy, has taken on the role of acting head of people operations and is said to be a rising force within the party.
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Chris Bruni-Lowe, Farage’s polling guru and former campaign lead, has been asked to return to play a role as an informal sounding board on strategy for the party.
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Raheem Kassam, a former communications chief for Farage now based in the US, has been playing an unofficial role as an attack dog mostly aimed at the Tories, including calling Kemi Badenoch a “Nigerian scammer”, which has been condemned by the Conservative chair, Kevin Hollinrake. While Jukes, who was a longtime aide to Farage, was considered a loss, the party’s communications are now being handled by Ed Sumner, its communications director, and Miles Goslett, a former journalist.
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The mood at Reform is said to be down but less bad than expected given its polling slide, partly because of the £72m gift from two donors, Harborne and Ben Delo.
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The Guardian reported undercover footage from Verbatim this week in which Orr suggested Harborne could be caught by the forthcoming overseas donor cap, given he has only been a registered domestic voter in the UK since June. However, Reform has insisted the money will not have to be handed back. The party has begun a hiring spree since the windfall and is planning to take on 400 campaign managers in target seats.
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It has also sent a mailshot directly to voters – a move that may be repeated in the coming weeks. Farage has been under investigation over the £5m gift from Harborne just before the last election in 2024 since shortly after the Guardian revealed it in May.
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The Reform leader has said it was a personal matter, not a political one, and the money did not need to be declared.
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The rules state that financial support related to an MP’s job needs to be registered if given in the 12 months before they enter parliament.
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