Nigel Farage to ‘make statement on future in public life’ amid finances scrutiny

Reform UK leader is under pressure following reports that long-term ally provided funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage  is facing scrutiny over a £5m gift from a doner File picture

Nigel Farage has said he will “make a statement on my future in public life”, as he faces intense scrutiny over financial support given to him by a convicted fraudster, and a £5m gift from a Reform UK donor.

The Reform UK leader is under pressure following reports that long-term ally George Cottrell had provided funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected.

Labour has asked the Electoral Commission to investigate whether the support should have been declared because Farage was a prominent figure in Reform even before he returned to frontline politics.

The party also questioned whether Montenegro-based Cottrell was a permissible donor, claiming it was not clear whether he was on a UK electoral register at the time.

Farage, who is already facing a parliamentary investigation over a £5m gift he received from Reform donor Christopher Harborne before he became an MP, said in a post on X: “I will make a statement on my future in public life at 2pm.”