Nigel Farage undermined his own claims that a \u00a35m gift was for security when he referred to the money as a reward for Brexit, according to one of his closest aides.<\/p>\n
The apparent admission came in undercover footage seen by the Guardian in which Dan Jukes says that it is \u201cpriced in\u201d for Farage to profit from politics.<\/p>\n
The footage raises fresh questions about the party leader\u2019s statements that the gift was solely for security purposes.<\/p>\n
The Reform UK leader is awaiting the outcome of a parliamentary watchdog investigation into whether or not the \u00a35m from the crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, first revealed by the Guardian<\/a>, should have been declared under parliamentary rules.<\/p>\n Farage told the Sun on 14 May<\/a>: \u201cAnd this [\u00a35m] 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, previously unpublished footage from the undercover reporting group Verbatim, shared with the Guardian, has revealed a conversation between Jukes, a longtime close aide of Farage, and an undercover reporter.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was not the line to take from the press office,\u201d Jukes said of Farage\u2019s admission that the funds were a political reward, appearing to suggest that it was an on-air accident.<\/p>\n The subject of Farage\u2019s funds arose when Jukes quipped that if a US limited liability company could not make a donation because of electoral law, perhaps the reporter posing as a donor could just make him a \u00a35m unconditional gift instead.<\/p>\n After discussing if Jukes could think of any ways other than secret polling<\/a> \u2013 foreign-funded polls that appeared to be orchestrated by Reform officials but which were not publicly attributed to the party \u2013 for the party to benefit from money from a US LLC, Jukes replied: \u201cI\u2019m happy to take a \u00a35m personal, unconditional gift, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n The undercover reporter said: \u201cThat seems like it\u2019s [the \u00a35m] been quite tough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a realist and I bat straight and it\u2019s a little bit awkward,\u201d Jukes said, appearing to admit that Farage was not meant to change his explanation from the \u00a35m being intended for security costs to say it was a reward for Brexit.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was not the line to take from the press office,\u201d Jukes said. \u201cSo I think now the line is it was a thank you for Brexit to pay for security so he is safe for the rest of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n The undercover reporter suggested that people did not mind if Farage \u201cmakes a few bob [from politics]\u201d.<\/p>\n Jukes replied: \u201cWell it\u2019s a bit priced in with our Nige, isn\u2019t it, no one\u2019s voting for him to be the pope.\u201d<\/p>\n If the funds were not given unconditionally but rather as a way to circumvent donation rules, as the footage appears to suggest, it could also trigger questions about whether it was a payment for work and therefore subject to tax.<\/p>\n Jukes left Reform after the original Verbatim\/Channel 4 investigation was aired. He had worked closely with Farage for more than a decade.<\/p>\n An internal Reform investigation concluded that neither Jukes nor another senior party official, James Orr, had broken laws that ban foreign donations. A police investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n Harborne has previously said of the gift to Farage that it was \u201cto support Nigel\u2019s security not just now, but for the rest of his life\u201d. Lawyers for the crypto-billionaire have previously said he \u201cexpected nothing in return\u201d and \u201cdid not envisage Mr Farage returning to politics\u201d.<\/p>\n The timeline for the gift is disputed.<\/p>\n Lawyers for Harborne have said the gift was made on 5 April 2024.<\/p>\n