Reform UK bankrolls Nigel Farage's security amid disputed £5 million gift claims
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Sources say Reform UK's central funds have paid for Farage's security team and vehicles, costing more than £150,000 in the past year, undercutting his claim that a £5 million donation would cover his lifelong protection.
Reform UK has been using its central funds to pay for Nigel Farage's personal security team and two cars, according to party insiders, after the Home Office reduced the taxpayer-funded protection in 2025. The bill has climbed to more than £150,000 in the last year.
Farage had previously claimed that a £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne was meant to fund his security for life, but the party has not said whether any of that donation has been used for those costs.
"As a standard practice, we do not comment on security matters," a Reform UK spokesperson said when asked about the arrangement.
The party says it separates security needed for political activities, which it pays for, from longer-term personal protection, which the donor said the gift would cover.
Labour party chair Bridget Phillipson attacked Farage's account of the donation, while a Conservative spokesperson demanded a transparent breakdown of the £5 million.
Undercover footage shared with the Guardian showed Farage's aide Dan Jukes advising that the party should not describe the money as anything other than security funding. Jukes later left Reform and denied wrongdoing.
Harborne’s lawyers said the donor expected no return and did not think Farage would return to politics. They said the gift was made on 5 April 2024, though some financial sources say part of the sum was received only at the end of May, shortly before Farage announced his candidacy for the 2024 general election.