Nigel Farage and Reform UK have several ongoing scandals, with some of them being interlinked.
Farage’s biggest controversy is probably the undeclared £5 million gift he received from a foreign-based crypto donor. This is linked to Reform UK’s controversial recent claim that their MPs receive no security from the state because Farage has at times claimed he needs that £5 million for security.
Now, it turns out he was getting state security.
The arrogance of Farage’s lie about being refused state funded security is exceeded by his crass stupidity in thinking he could get away with it
Yesterday Yusuf revealed that Farage had NOT in fact spent any of the secret £5m gift on security
Now it’s confirmed that after he… pic.twitter.com/WSGipbTDSU
— Bruce McD (@brucemcd23) July 17, 2026
Farage declined security
On the £5 million gift, we previously reported:
Farage accepted the £5m gift from [Christopher] Harborne – a crypto billionaire – in 2024. At the time, he’d said he wouldn’t run in the general election, but this changed after he received the £5m. The problem is that after he became an MP, he was supposed to declare any ‘registrable benefits’ from the previous 12 months. Farage did not declare the £5m, and now it looks like he was purposefully trying to hide it.
Another wrinkle is that the Guardian revealed on 15 July that Reform insiders claim Farage wanted £1 million a year to return to politics. This is a very notable number because Farage was reportedly asked to fight the 2024 and 2029 elections — a period of five years. As such, speculation is now rife that the £5 million gift was indeed a bung.
The Guardian of course have just made the Standards investigation a slam dunk pic.twitter.com/HAlnTlYAqv
— dave lawrence
(@dave43law) July 15, 2026
Farage has variously claimed that the gift was for whatever he likes and that it was for personal protection. Skipping forwards, Zia Yusuf made a big stink recently, claiming Reform politicians don’t receive security from the state.
It later came out that Farage actually turned down a security offer which was comparable to that of Kemi Badenoch (the leader of the opposition) and several cabinet ministers. Now, we know the man was actually receiving security after becoming an MP.
Revelations
The i Paper published the following:
The i Paper can now reveal that he was given taxpayer-funded security when he became an MP and it was in place when he took his seat, including an eight-person protection team and two vehicles.
When we learned that Farage turned down a security offer, we were told it was due to him being downgraded. Speaking more on this, the i Paper revealed:
His publicly-funded protection was reviewed in July 2025 by Parliament’s then head of security Alison Giles, and he was offered a smaller team.
If Farage could prove that this review was flawed, maybe he might have an argument. The problem is Farage clearly isn’t being upfront because new information keeps coming out that paints the situation in a different light.
Why isn’t he simply laying all his cards on the table? Why isn’t he declaring payments which anyone could see might raise eyebrows further down the line?
It’s easy to see why Farage may not have been upfront, though, and it’s that some of this stuff could cost him.
In May we said Nigel Farage probably didn't owe tax on his £5m gift.
The Guardian now reports the gift followed talks where Farage said he'd need £5m to return to frontline politics.
*If* that's right, we think there's a high risk of a £3m tax bill – payable by Reform. pic.twitter.com/ILIwjz9k5V
— Dan Neidle (@DanNeidle) July 17, 2026
Our original report said that if, hypothetically, the £5 million was paid as part of an arrangement for Mr Farage to become leader, the “disguised remuneration” rules in Part 7 ITEPA could apply.
We said there was no evidence of this.
That has changed. The Guardian’s report is very close to our hypothetical scenario. It’s based on three anonymous sources, who told the Guardian that senior Reform figures wanted Farage to lead the party and stand as MP, but he said he’d need £5 million to do it.
The significant new element is discussions between Farage and senior Reform figures about compensating Mr Farage for returning as leader.
Because Mr Farage was already a director of the Reform company, it looks like an arrangement to provide a reward connected with an office.
*If* that’s true and *if* Christopher Harborne paid the £5 million as part of this arrangement, then HMRC would have a strong argument that the “disguised remuneration” rules apply.
Trouble ahead for Nigel Farage
It almost looks like Farage’s story keeps changing because each new claim he comes out with causes a brand new problem. Things certainly aren’t looking good for him, anyway, and we don’t anticipate things getting better any time soon.
Featured image via the Canary
By Willem Moore
