Reform UK has used its central party funds to pay for Nigel Farage's personal security, according to a report in the Guardian on Friday, despite the Reform leader saying a £5m gift from a crypto billionaire was intended to cover the cost of protecting him.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that the party has paid for a security team and two cars for Mr Farage since taxpayer-funded protection was reduced after a parliamentary review in 2025 and he turned down the downgraded package. Reform has not disputed that the central party pays for his security as leader.
The claim bears directly on an open investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, into the £5m that Christopher Harborne gave Mr Farage before the 2024 general election. Mr Farage did not declare the money on his register of interests, and he has repeatedly said it was a personal gift meant to keep him safe for the rest of his life.
Reform's position is that the two sources of money serve different purposes. The party says it covers security for Mr Farage's political work as leader, while the gift was intended for his long-term personal security needs. A Reform UK spokesman said: "As a standard practice, we do not comment on security matters."
The Guardian's sources also claimed that the party-funded arrangement has extended to security work on Mr Farage's properties. Reform disputes the claim about the cost of that work, though it does not challenge the central account that the party pays for his protection. Mr Farage has not commented personally on the report.
Mr Harborne, who lives in Thailand and is also one of Reform's largest donors, has been reported by the Guardian as saying the money was meant to support Mr Farage's security now and for the rest of his life. He has made no public statement on Friday's report.
Opposition parties responded to the claim. Bridget Phillipson, the Labour Party chair, said: "Nigel Farage's excuses over his secret £5m 'gift' have fallen apart." A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Nigel Farage should come clean about where the £5m has gone and what it was really for."
The standards inquiry was opened on 13 May 2026 after a complaint from the Conservatives, who also referred the gift to the Electoral Commission. Mr Greenberg interviewed Mr Farage for about 30 minutes in September. No finding has been made, and Mr Farage denies any wrongdoing.
Commons rules require new MPs to register gifts worth more than £300 received in the 12 months before their election, unless the gift "could not reasonably be thought by others" to relate to their political activities. A Reform spokesman said in May that Mr Farage had "always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken".
Mr Farage has declined to say how much of the £5m has gone on security. Asked about the money on BBC Breakfast in June, he said: "It's literally none of your business." He told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on 8 November: "Under the rules of Parliament, if I even answer your question, I will receive a letter of rebuke from the standards commissioner."
Reform first raised the issue of his protection in October 2025, when it said his taxpayer-funded security had been cut by three-quarters following a decision by the Parliamentary Security Department. The Telegraph reported at the time that his security had become entirely privately funded, and Reform later told MailOnline that wealthy donors had stepped in to ensure it was "shored up". Parliament has not confirmed the scale of the reduction.
A Reform adviser said this week that the party expects a "harsh verdict" from the standards process. The commissioner's office has not indicated when the inquiry will conclude.
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