Farage fails to report 5 million gift!

So glad you agree Jakuss, that Donald looks bad.

LizzieDrip

His stories about this simply don’t add up.

He was given the £5 million, supposedly for security, before the alleged fire bomb incident even happened🤔

If he is spending the £5 million on security, why is he still claiming he can’t hold constituency surgeries because of *security concerns*🤔?????

Bottom line … if there was nothing ‘dodgy’ going on - why didn’t he declare the £5 million?

He was given the £5 million, supposedly for security, before the alleged fire bomb incident even happened 🤔

^If he is spending the £5 million on security, why is he still claiming he can’t hold constituency surgeries because of *security concerns*^🤔?????

If he was given £5 million for security before the alleged fire bomb incident then the security company he presumably employed with that money should give him a refund as they were not fit for purpose.

Racingsparrow

This money was a gift from a friend for his security. It was not cash, but money to pay a security company. He was not a member of parliament at the time he , was an MEP.

There is nobody on here questioning members of the Labour Party who have security

Nobody has said it the £5 million was paid in cash- most likely paid via bank transfer as such a large sum- makes no difference.

Farage received the sum just weeks before he came an MP. His own case was that it was for his personal benefit and you agree- his personal security as he is in the public eye as an MP and leader of the Reform party. The rules state all personal benefits, gifts, donations, as specified in the rules, for the period 12 months prior to becoming an MP must be declared- addressed upthread. For obvious reasons- to prevent corruption in British politics.

Farage is at liberty provide the receipts for the personal security protection payments he has made over the last 2 years, if they exist and also prove that he has not provided such receipts as a tax deductible claim in his annual tax returns since then. That would be double deceit if so. He may be required to do so any way to defend himself, if and when he is investigated. If such receipts exist, I will eat my hat 👒.

Just weeks after Farage became an MP he became eligible to free to him, state funded security as do all MPs- details of which set out upthread. Plus the Reform Party- tops up this state funded security form its party funds so free to Farage.

You appear to have some concerns about Labour Party security- that you expect other posters to be concerned about and comment on- not sure what though.

Racingsparrow

This money was a gift from a friend for his security. It was not cash, but money to pay a security company. He was not a member of parliament at the time he , was an MEP.

There is nobody on here questioning members of the Labour Party who have security

Labour MPs having security is not relevant, unless they paid for it with an undeclared gift.
It doesn't matter what the money given to Farage by a friend was for, it should still have been declared as a gift, whatever he spent it on. He should know that.
Nor is it relevant that he was an MEP not an MP.

This was an answer to a question online:-
”Yes, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are required to disclose financial interests, outside income, and certain gifts to prevent conflicts of interest. The rules stipulate that MEPs must:-
Declare outside income: Any remunerated activity undertaken during their term must be made public if it earns more than €5,000 a year.
Disclose financial interests: They must declare any financial support, assets, or interests that could cause a conflict of interest.
Report gifts: Gifts or benefits valued at more than €150 received while representing the Parliament in an official capacity must be declared in a register.
Declare travel/subsistence: Attendance at events where travel, accommodation, or subsistence costs are covered by a third party must be declared.”

He was not an MEP when he received the sum- he was and still is, resident in the UK and Leader of the Reform Party.

BlessedArt

I’m just here to read the mental gymnastics it takes to excuse this deceitful grifter’s behaviour. Spin doctors are indeed at work

The same mental gymnastics that Labour supporters have been using these past few weeks over the Starmer/Mandelson fiasco??

Farage stopped being an MEP in January 2020 when the UK officially left the EU. He was entitled to a £153,000 severance as he left and took with him an annual pension of £73,000 annually, subject to annual cost of living increase.

He is a wealthy man in his own rights by any reasonable standards.

Wyllow, have you made a spelling mistake in your OP?
Perhaps the word should be written as 'grift'?

TheHappyGardener

BlessedArt

I’m just here to read the mental gymnastics it takes to excuse this deceitful grifter’s behaviour. Spin doctors are indeed at work

The same mental gymnastics that Labour supporters have been using these past few weeks over the Starmer/Mandelson fiasco??

All differing points of view can be deemed "mental gymnastics" by those that disagree- you seem to be attempting to deflect from Farage and pivot to the Labour Party and Starmer- 2 other threads available for that....

But what's fair for one is fair for the other I agree. Starmer has/is being investigated, only fair that Farage is too.

Absolutely LemonJam

TheHappyGardener

BlessedArt

I’m just here to read the mental gymnastics it takes to excuse this deceitful grifter’s behaviour. Spin doctors are indeed at work

The same mental gymnastics that Labour supporters have been using these past few weeks over the Starmer/Mandelson fiasco??

An eye for an eye and all that.

TheHappyGardener

BlessedArt

I’m just here to read the mental gymnastics it takes to excuse this deceitful grifter’s behaviour. Spin doctors are indeed at work

The same mental gymnastics that Labour supporters have been using these past few weeks over the Starmer/Mandelson fiasco??

Starmer is being hammered by the press- including left of centre Guardian for his misjudgement over Mandelson- highly in the eyes of many.

But returning to Farage, in comparison, Farage turned to The Telegraph as his ally to release his spin on this story and GB news, his £1 million a year+ employer is also his ally. Thus Faragae doesn't get hammered in the press whatever he does by his money paying allies. On the contrary such media outlets provide a favourably biased platform for Farage.

How does that square with your personal mental gymnastics?

@TheHappyGardener

You’ve seen me defend Starmer on Mandelson? What does that situation have to do with Farage? This is exactly the problem with society today. People think about inappropriate behaviour or bad decision making by these “leaders” in terms of whether or not their own political beliefs align with those public figures. It’s indicative of the societal decline we are living in. Defending Farage with “what-about-ism” illustrates that decline. Political ideologues will justify any wrongdoing by those they side with so long as it does not conflict with their politics. When we stop being able to see beyond political affiliation, we pave the way for the rise of humanity’s worst “leaders”. That never ends well.

I really think that this situation is so totally and utterly different from the other why bring it in at all unless it's just another chance to attempt to Starmer -bash? If other politicians are to be brought in, it needs to be a comparable situation.

Yes, it would be good to see the receipts from the Security Company Farage claims were paid and for what.

That is, if they were for his political activity, its one thing (and would want to know the circumstances) -

it is another matter altogether if it was security for one of Farage's money earning "do's" like the one he starred in advising rich Europeans how to tax evade and got £40.000 for

The storm over Mandelson was about Starmer allegedly knowing that he had failed security vetting and allegedly lying to Parliament about it.

We now know through the testimony of several witnesses to the Foreign Affairs Committee that Mandelson did not fail security vetting, that all the stories published by various newspapers from Maddox, Crerar etc were based on falsehoods.

Farage’s £5 million pre-election bung from Harborne, a man who has given a total of £22 million to the Brexit Party (£10 million) and Reform (£12 million) should have been declared and wasn’t. Had Farage bothered to engage with the induction programme for new MPs he would have known that.

Harborne makes his money from fossil fuels, crypto gambling and weapons manufacture. Reform - which is a cult based around one man - push fossil fuels and propose tax incentives for crypto and weapons manufacture. But nothing to see here.

keepingquiet

Shows what a massive Grifter he is- I'm glad this has come out before the local elections because I am really worried about Reform getting in where I live.

I cannot understand why people support this man but constantly slag off Starmer.

I'm the same keeping quiet, I cannot see why people slag off Starmer unless they don't approve of what he's doing. The EU has been cleaning up tax avoidance & Farage took us out of that. Most of us are worse off but if you're loaded you'll welcome escape from the EU possibly. Starmer is also restricting the huge profits some private firms make. In my own work, fostering, since private companies became involved I've had to sign documents for kids in care to pay their adoption agencies around £2k per week. There's little choice so it has to be paid, bankrupting local authorities. It's sickening to think that little of that goes back into frontline services, but into shareholders pockets. It's similar with rail, water companies etc. they might be renationalised again & loose huge reliable amounts of payments from public money. That's why they don't like Starmer.

My female MP received threats as a result of comments made by a neighbouring male MP from the opposition party. She doesn’t have thugs looking after her like the ones who accompanied Farage to my local pub 10 days ago, uninvited by the way. So I am totally fed up that this grifter gets away with everything . Even his henchman Zia on QT last night dominated and wouldn’t shut up. Give me strength to endure the next couple of weeks. Oh to have the authority and power to b force Farage to answer to these issues, but this old lady is running out of steam.

There have been a number of Points of Order over the last week in the House of Commons where at least three MPs have complained that Reform MPs are coming to their constituencies without informing the local MP.

Here are two. Watch Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North Labour) at 12:38 and James MacCleary (Lewes LibDem) make the same complaint and hear the Speaker's response.

parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/e71a8fa7-2a33-491c-92d6-a1150b0907d8

MPs and constituency etiquette is made very clear here = page 21:

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN02028/SN02028.pdf

Reform MPs riding roughshod over the courtesies that fellow MPs deserve.

Is Farage even worse than Mandelson or countess other politicians?

Let go back to the Sixties.Think Ernest Marples who was then Minister of Transport..Who was shown in later years to be a complete fraud about contracts for his company.

I still remember him on TV cutting the ribbon on the opening of the Preston by pass. You know the UK's first stretch of Motorway.

No thanks, let's for the moment concentrate on Farage, and what he is up to.

It doesn’t matter who is ‘worse’ though does it? If somebody doesn’t abide by the rules they will be rightly criticised, whether for political gain or not. I’ve got a low tolerance for dishonesty, as I think a lot of people have.

I have two questions, which I hope that someone might answer.
1. If Mr Farage says that this was a personal gift, for security purposes only, and unrelated to any part of his political role, is he obligated to supply evidence of this being spent in this activity?
2. Should Mr Farage declare an " interest" in cryptocurrency, in Parliamentary questions and debates,as the recipient of money from a man much involved in this "industry".

Farage is a man without principles or morals and is in it for the money. He's funded by foreign governments and people like Harborne to promote their interests, not those of the British population. He's a racist with links to fascist organisations.

WithNobsOnIt

Is Farage even worse than Mandelson or countess other politicians?

Let go back to the Sixties.Think Ernest Marples who was then Minister of Transport..Who was shown in later years to be a complete fraud about contracts for his company.

I still remember him on TV cutting the ribbon on the opening of the Preston by pass. You know the UK's first stretch of Motorway.

I think this is an issue that should be addressed because it is part of the lazy thinking we have become assaulted with, especially in the media.
Do we see someone who breaks in to our house as a lesser threat because it is the first time they have done it?
Do we walk around thinking most burglers wear black tee-shirts so that man over there in a black tee-shirt must therefore be a potential burglar?
Oh he's now going into that house so I must ring the police and report a burglary?
Maybe not the best example but I hope you get what I mean.
This 'all politicians are the same so anyone will do' attitude is not helpful in a democracy.
The fact that you can single out Ernest Marples as an example really shows my point. What about all the other hard-working MPs who weren't and aren't involved in this kind of behaviour?
No we don't hear about them because the media can't stand them and are constantly prowling around looking for the black-tee shirt brigade to pin something on.
Why have we stopped thinking for ourselves?

Fraser Nelson sums it up rather neatly in The Times:

Only two years ago {Farage} was telling friends that he could not afford to run in the coming election. Then suddenly, his fortunes seemed to change — and change utterly. How?

The likely explanation emerged this week: he was given £5 million by Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based crypto billionaire and Reform UK donor. The money, Farage says, was a personal gift — so, not disclosable. It was to pay for bodyguards, he said, making him “safe and secure for the rest of my life”. But such protection costs are, at most, £300,000 a year. Farage was given a lifetime of financial security, clearing the way for his return to the political arena. Albeit with a lifelong feeling of debt to Harborne, who sits in a web of interlocking global financial interests.

Read on.

www.thetimes.com/article/4b079209-6075-4121-bcb7-d77d2096811a?shareToken=ec89a12b1ef60635fe21550794f045ff