Politics nigel farage

Nigel Farage claims his ‘completely non-political’ £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire was also a reward for Brexit – 23 sceptical responses to Schrodinger’s Donation

On the same day that the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner confirmed an investigation into the £5 million given to Nigel Farage by a Thailand-resident crypto billionaire named Christopher Harborne (or Chakrit Sakunkrit), the Reform Leader went running to the Sun’s Harry Cole to try (again) to get ahead of the story.

Farage, who has repeatedly insisted that he didn’t need to declare the £5 million to Parliament because it wasn’t in any way political, now claims it was a reward for his dedication to campaigning for Brexit. This man has more flip-flops than Primark’s beachwear department.

Harry Cole: Do you not worry about the what the punters think though in terms of this is unusual… If my mate lent me a tener to get a couple of beers… Five million quid, it’s a hell of a lot.

Nigel Farage: I know. And it’s very unusual for someone to give up 27 years of their life to campaign for something. And this was given to me on an unconditional basis. Completely unconditional basis. But frankly, it was given as a reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years.

HC: And it had no impact on your decision to come back into public life?

NF: No.

HC: But he who pays the piper picks the tune.

NF: Hang on a second. Hang on a second. I can’t be bought by anybody.

The issue of the donation came up at minute 21 of a 25-minute chat about Farage’s inevitable entry into Downing Street, how Reform will change the country, and why the UK needs lower taxes, in case you were wondering why he was prepared to talk to Cole, when he couldn’t even face the likes of Laura Kuenssberg.

The standards commissioner may not yet have drawn conclusions, but these people have – and there was more than a whiff of “Sure, Jan!” in the air.

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