Reform’s biggest donor Christopher Harborne is suing Ben Habib for libel over claims he made that Harborne had given Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson £1 million each to effectively rig the 2019 general election. 

Habib made the comments in May, in an interview with Paul Thorpe, a right-wing Youtuber and former watch dealer.

In the interview, Habib, who left Reform in November 2024 over disagreements with Farage and Zia Yusuf, alleged “The 2019 general election was sewn up between Nigel Farage, Christopher Harborne and Boris Johnson, and it was a monetary deal”.

He added that Harborne could sue him, stating: “He can sue me, if he thinks that I’m lying”. 

In November 2019, Farage announced that the Brexit Party would not field any candidates against the Conservatives in the 317 seats they won in the 2017 election.

Farage entered into the alliance, saying he felt reassured after Johnson said he would not accept an extension of the transition period for Britain leaving the EU beyond the end of 2020.

In November 2022, Harborne donated £1 million to The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd. Habib alleges that Farage also received £1 million.

The particulars of Harborne’s claim against Habib have now been published, and put before the court by Harborne’s lawyers, Shillings.

The document, which sets out the detailed facts, legal basis, and remedy sought by Harborne, accuses Habib’s statement of being “defamatory”.

It also states that “the Claimant’s [Harborne] reputation was seriously harmed” and that he “has suffered distress” as a result of Habib’s allegation.

The document does not disclose how much the British-Thai billionaire will be seeking in damages from Habib. 

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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Reform has been criticised for being “awash” with crypto cash, after it received £20 million from wealthy individuals who invest in cryptocurrency since 2024.  

An analysis of Electoral Commission figures by The Independent over the weekend found that 60% of Reform’s donations since the beginning of 2024 have come from crypto interests.

Whilst receiving large sums from crypto investors, Reform has become the first political party to accept cryptocurrency donations, Farage has promoted Tether, the crypto firm Harborne has a 12% stake in.

He has also committed to creating a state-owned bitcoin reserve and called for the deregulation of crypto. 

The largest chunk of these donations, totalling £15 million, came from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. 

Other donors included Ben Delo, who gave two payments of £2 million to Reform UK this year, and Maria Rost, who is married to US crypto investor John Rost.

Maria Rost has given nine payments of £125,000 (£1.125 million) to Farage’s party since 2024. 

The Independent also found that Simon William Smith, a London-based bitcoin investor who founded a company which allows content creators to sell their content in exchange for Bitcoin, donated £116,000 before the general election in 2024. 

Oscar Townsley, the founder of Bitcoin derivatives trading firm A1X, gave the party £30,000 last year.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives received £82,250 from Alan Eldad Howard, a hedge fund manager and crypto investor.

Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party did not receive any donations from crypto interests, according to the analysis. 

The revelations about Reform’s funding sources come amid growing scrutiny of Nigel Farage’s finances, after he stepped down and forced a by-election following questions over an undeclared £5 million donation he received from Harborne before the 2024 election.

In response, a Reform spokesperson said the party “takes pride in its stringent vetting of donations”.

Bridget Phillipson, chair of the Labour Party, told The Independent: “Nigel Farage has spent the summer battling a bin in a desperate attempt to dodge scrutiny but people have a right to know what he’s hiding.

“He secretly took a £5m ‘gift’ from a Thai-based crypto billionaire and then promised to cut taxes for the crypto industry. 

“Now it seems his party is awash with crypto cash. Farage is treating the public with contempt. With donations from a convicted fraudster and police probes into Reform’s donors and finances – it’s clear they think the rules are for other people.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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Half of voters think that Nigel Farage should face a second by-election if he is found to have broken parliamentary rules by failing to declare a donation. 

Farage stepped down as Clacton’s MP on 7 July amid a parliamentary standards investigation into an undeclared £5 million gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Despite Farage winning last Thursday’s Clacton by-election, More in Common polling shows the public still believe he should face a second vote if found to have breached Commons rules.

Farage had hoped that the by-election would shift the focus away from questions about his £5 million gift, stating that the contest would allow Clacton residents “to be the judges of my actions”. 

Just hours after the by-election result, which Farage won with an 8,500 majority, the standards watchdog reopened the investigation into his finances. The probe had been paused during Farage’s brief absence from parliament.

According to the More in Common Poll, 49% of British voters think he should face a second by-election if the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner finds he has breached the rules.

A second by-election is a potential outcome of the standards investigation. If the commissioner recommends a suspension of more than 10 days, this could trigger a recall petition and potentially force a new vote.

A majority of Brits (54%) do not believe that the standards investigation is treating Farage unfairly, thereby rejecting his claim that he is a victim of an “establishment stitch-up”.

UK director at More in Common, Luke Tryl, told the HuffPost: “If one of Farage’s aims in calling this by-election was to motivate supporters and project confidence, it seems to have proven quite successful: Britons tend to think that the result was a victory for Farage, and among Reform’s own voters four in five say that it was a good result for him. 

“Yet the public are less aligned with Farage’s hopes that winning the support of the people of Clacton might put the donations row to bed. Beyond Reform’s own supporters, few think that this by-election lets him off the hook, or that he is being unfairly targeted.

“So while it seems the public see Clacton as a victory for Reform, most don’t see it as a vindication of Farage’s position on the finance row.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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Nigel Farage has claimed that he never wanted to step down as the MP for Clacton and trigger a by-election, but that he was forced to do so by “the political establishment”.

Setting out his stall to constituents ahead of the Clacton by-election tomorrow, Farage told The Metro newspaper that the contest was “forced” upon him.

Farage said: “I did not want to resign as your MP and have this by-election. But the political establishment forced it upon me.”

The Reform leader announced his resignation as an MP on 7 July amid mounting pressure and media scrutiny over the undeclared £5 million gift he received from Christopher Harborne in April 2024.

Farage was being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner when he resigned, over whether he should have declared that income.

If he is returned to Parliament tomorrow, that investigation is expected to resume.

When he stood down as Clacton’s MP at the beginning of July, Farage said he had done so because the “people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions”, and not “the Establishment”.

According to the chief executive of Tendring District Council, Ian Davidson, the council by-election is expected to cost a quarter of million pounds in taxpayer money.

Farage initially offered for Reform to pay for the by-election, but the proposal was quickly rejected over concerns it would undermine the independence of the election.

Responding to Farage’s comments that ‘the political establishment’ forced him to call a by-election, deputy leader of the Green Party, Mothin Ali, said: “This is common currency for Farage – to blame the ‘establishment’ for problems he’s created himself.

“And with his many dubious connections to millionaires, billionaires and land and property owners he is very much part of the establishment.

“Nigel Farage is clearly preparing the ground for doing badly against a bin. His misjudged stunt in triggering a by-election in Clacton was his decision and his alone. He needs to own it.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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Nigel Farage has said he would take the £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne even now, after calling a by-election in his Clacton seat.

As Farage prepares to stand in the Clacton by-election tomorrow, The Sun has reported that Farage has “no regrets accepting” the money.

Farage was not asked whether he has any regrets about failing to declare the gift. He has previously insisted he did not need to declare the gift as he wasn’t an MP when he received it in April 2024.

However, Sunday Times reporting revealed that Farage had negotiated a deal with then-Reform leader Richard Tice to return to lead the party in March and April 2024.

Farage originally said Harborne had given him the money to pay for security for the rest of his life. 

He has since said that he was given “the unconditional gift” for campaigning for Brexit, and subsequently that he could spend the money on whatever he wanted, stating: “I can spend it on cars if I want to”.

Asked if he would still have taken the money if he knew about the subsequent scrutiny over it, he said he would due to Ann Widdecombe’s death.

He added that he will need security “till the day I die”, saying: “You can see that around me now”.

He made the comment after two members of the public heckled him and questioned him about the £5 million gift.

The Reform leader was under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Daniel Greenberg before he resigned as an MP on 7 July.

The Times reported that Farage and his team were not aware that the standards investigation would be reopened if he resigned as an MP and was re-elected in a by-election.

The investigation will likely be reopened if he is re-elected tomorrow.

However, Farage made clear he would like to dodge further investigation, stating: “If I get the result I want, if Standards decide that they want to do it again, well, I think they’d look rather silly.”

The Reform politician branded parody candidate Count Binface the “Establishment candidate”, and said that if he wins with “a big thumping vote” that it will “be a message back to an Establishment that’s done its best over the last few months, not to give us an even break, literally on anything”.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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Nigel Farage reportedly didn’t realise that the parliamentary standards investigation into him could resume after the Clacton by-election.

Farage was under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner in relation to an undeclared £5 million gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. 

The investigation was paused when Farage announced his resignation as the MP for Clacton on 7 July.

Farage framed the by-election as an opportunity for Clacton voters to judge him, rather than the “Establishment” and the media deciding whether he was guilty of any wrongdoing by not declaring the £5 million donation. 

However, according to The Times, a senior Reform source said Farage was “poorly advised” about calling the by-election.

The article said that “young advisors” around him had not checked whether the investigation would resume if he is re-elected and had “incorrectly assumed it would not”.

Media reporting at the time Farage triggered a by-election in Clacton made clear that the parliamentary standards probe had been paused but not scrapped, and could be resumed if he returned to Parliament.

It seems Farage and his team were not aware that the investigation had been paused and not cancelled.

Farage received the £5 million gift in April 2024, before he became an MP. He said it was a “private gift” and that he had no intention of returning to politics at the time, so it didn’t need declaring.

But a report in The Sunday Times last Sunday cast doubt on that claim.

The Times reported Farage had negotiated a deal in March and April 2024 with then-Reform leader Richard Tice to return to lead the party. Farage has since admitted that this is the case. 

This doesn’t, in itself, prove any wrongdoing. But the timing of those discussions, shortly before Farage received the £5 million gift, is likely to face further scrutiny if the parliamentary investigation is reopened.

Last month, The Guardian also reported that Farage had told senior Reform figures he would need “a million a year” if he stood to become an MP in the 2024 general election.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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The by-election Nigel Farage triggered in Clacton may cost around a quarter of a million pounds in taxpayer money, according to a council official. 

Last month, Farage resigned as the MP for Clacton amid mounting scrutiny over an undeclared £5 million gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024. 

Rather than waiting for the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to conclude his investigation into the donation, Farage triggered the by-election, saying that voters, not political opponents or “the Establishment” , should decide his future as a politician. 

If Farage is re-elected next Thursday (13 August), the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner will resume his investigation, which may trigger another costly by-election.

Farage will face 33 other candidates in the vote next week, meaning the local council has to print what is believed to be the longest ballot paper in British political history. 

The 90cm ballot paper costs four times more to print and post than regular ballot papers, Tendring District Council has said.

As reported by The Mirror, chief executive of Tendring District Council, Ian Davidson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ve got 34 candidates, which is the most number of candidates any parliamentary election has ever had. 

“And the ballot paper is just under a metre long. The cost of actually printing, running, and posting things like that is about four times the cost of the General Election where we had five candidates.”

Asked how much the by-election would cost, Davidson said: “We don’t yet – we’re anticipating around a quarter of a million, about £250,000.”

Davidson said that most of the cost of the by-election will be paid for by the government, “but not all”. 

He said: “Tendring council will have to pay some of the cost because we’re having to put a lot of additional measures in place which are not what would be in the normal parliamentary by-election costs.”

He also said the council will not be using a stage to announce the results of the count – due to the sheer number of candidates.

Farage initially offered for Reform to pay for the by-election, but the proposal was quickly rejected as it would undermine the independence of the election.

A Labour source told The Mirror: “A political figure paying for a by-election he is standing in would clearly undermine the independence of the democratic process. It’s baffling that he can’t see that.”

They added: “He cannot just buy his way out of the mess he’s got himself into. This by-election will be conducted along the same rules as all elections are in the UK. Farage will have to take responsibility for making taxpayers pay the cost of his latest ego trip.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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