Keir Starmer Skewers Nigel Farage Over Undeclared £5m Gift In Spiky PMQs Moment

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Nigel Farage and Keir StarmerNigel Farage and Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer scorched Nigel Farage in prime minister’s questions over the £5 million gift he received from a crypto billionaire.

The Reform UK leader is currently being investigated by theParliamentary Commissioner for Standards after he failed to declare the donation when he was sworn in parliament in 2024 as the MP for Clacton.

So when Reform MP Lee Anderson asked the prime minister if he agreed that every illegal immigrant coming to the country should be deported, Starmer suggested his efforts should be focused on his own boss.

“He likes to ask questions. He should be asking questions of the leader of his party sitting next to him,” the outgoing PM said.

“He received £5 million from a crypto billionaire and then privately lobbied the Bank of England on digital currencies.

“Did their leader carry out lobbying, paid? Why did he keep his £5 million gift secret? And are they happy with their leader earning £20,000 per hour flogging gold bullion?

“They need to ask the questions across their benches – but they never do.”

The PM also hit back at Anderson’s comments about immigration by saying he was “proud” of his government’s efforts to reduce the asylum backlog.

Farage sat with his arms crossed while Starmer laid into him, shaking his head at the criticism.

The Clacton MP initially insisted he did not need to declare the gift from Christopher Harborne because it was to fund his personal security.

He later said the lump sum was a reward for Brexit campaigning, then told the media it was “none of their business” what he spent the money on and he could spend it on ferraris if he wanted.

It comes after the Reform leader declared earning £270,000 for promoting gold bullion in May.

In the MPs’ interests, Farage revealed that he had completed approximately 12 hours of work for the company across a three-month period.

There is no suggestion that the Reform UK leader is guilty of wrongdoing regarding his promo work for gold bullion.

However, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner does have the power to suspend Farage over his undeclared £5 million gift.

Labour chair Anna Turley said on Tuesday: “Nigel Farage clearly has the Midas touch when it comes to lining his pockets instead of doing his day job.”

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