Nigel Farage inadvertently breached MPs’ financial rules 17 times, says watchdog

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage breached MPs’ rules 17 times by failing to register financial interests totalling £384,000 within the 28-day limit, the parliamentary commissioner for standards has ruled.

Daniel Greenberg said that following an investigation he had concluded that the breaches were “inadvertent” and due to “staffing and other administrative issues”.

He added that Farage had apologised and had promised to meet the deadline in the future.

The interests that Farage failed to report on time include payments for his appearances on GB News, speaking engagements with Google and money earned through the Cameo app.

In his reply to the commissioner, Farage said he was “sincerely sorry” and that there had been “no malicious intent”.

“The late declarations, which were set out in your letter to me, fall short of what you expect and indeed what I expect from public figures.”

Explaining why he missed the deadlines, Farage said that he had “a very complicated and complex set of interests” due to his work as a TV presenter and a businessman.

He also said he had been “extremely let down by a very senior member of staff”.

Following his investigation, the commissioner could decide whether to close the case or recommend a sanction for the MP.

In his report, he said his decision to close the case was “finely balanced” particularly given the high value of some of the interests.

However, he said he was satisfied that the breaches had been inadvertent and that he would not be referring the case to the Committee on Standards.

Rule five of the parliamentary code of conduct states that new MPs should register all their financial interests received in the 12 months before their election and that MPs “must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days”.

Farage missed the deadline 17 times, with delays spanning from four days to as long as 120 days.

A Labour Party spokesperson said Farage “isn’t on the side of working people – he’s just lining his pockets when he should be standing up for his constituents”.