Nigel Farage undermined his own claims that a £5m gift was for security when he referred to the money as a reward for Brexit, according to one of his closest aides.
The apparent admission came in undercover footage seen by the Guardian in which Dan Jukes says that it is “priced in” for Farage to profit from politics.
The footage raises fresh questions about the party leader’s statements that the gift was solely for security purposes.
The Reform UK leader is awaiting the outcome of a parliamentary watchdog investigation into whether or not the £5m from the crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, first revealed by the Guardian, should have been declared under parliamentary rules.
Farage told the Sun on 14 May: “And this [£5m] 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.”
Now, previously unpublished footage from the undercover reporting group Verbatim, shared with the Guardian, has revealed a conversation between Jukes, a longtime close aide of Farage, and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.
“That was not the line to take from the press office,” Jukes said of Farage’s admission that the funds were a political reward, appearing to suggest that it was an on-air accident.
The subject of Farage’s 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 £5m unconditional gift instead.
After discussing if Jukes could think of any ways other than secret polling – foreign-funded polls that appeared to be orchestrated by Reform officials but which were not publicly attributed to the party – for the party to benefit from money from a US LLC, Jukes replied: “I’m happy to take a £5m personal, unconditional gift, of course.”
The undercover reporter said: “That seems like it’s [the £5m] been quite tough.”
“I’m a realist and I bat straight and it’s a little bit awkward,” Jukes said, appearing to admit that Farage was not meant to change his explanation from the £5m being intended for security costs to say it was a reward for Brexit.
“That was not the line to take from the press office,” Jukes said. “So 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.”
The undercover reporter suggested that people did not mind if Farage “makes a few bob [from politics]”.
Jukes replied: “Well it’s a bit priced in with our Nige, isn’t it, no one’s voting for him to be the pope.”
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.
Jukes left Reform after the original Verbatim/Channel 4 investigation was aired. He had worked closely with Farage for more than a decade.
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.
Harborne has previously said of the gift to Farage that it was “to support Nigel’s security not just now, but for the rest of his life”. Lawyers for the crypto-billionaire have previously said he “expected nothing in return” and “did not envisage Mr Farage returning to politics”.
The timeline for the gift is disputed.
Lawyers for Harborne have said the gift was made on 5 April 2024.
According to financial industry sources, some of the £5m was not received until the end of May, just before Farage announced on 3 June that he would stand as an MP.
The Guardian has also reported that Farage told senior Reform figures he would need “a million a year” to cover lost earnings if he stood for parliament in the 2024 general election.
Farage has given a wide variety of reasons for accepting the £5m including that it was for his security and a reward for Brexit. He has refused to say how much, if any, of the £5m has been spent on security, adding it was nobody’s business what he did with the money and he could “spend it on Ferraris” if he wanted.
A spokesperson for Farage did not address several of the points put to them by the Guardian, including the claim that Farage had deviated from the press office line by admitting the £5m was a reward for Brexit.
Farage’s spokesperson said Jukes “accurately describes that the gift was for his security for the rest of his life”.
Lawyers for Jukes referred back to a previous statement: “This was entrapment over a prolonged period of time by individuals, using selective editing, who had their own agenda to discredit Reform UK.”
They added that Jukes denied any wrongdoing and pointed to the outcome of Reform’s internal investigation.
