NIGEL Farage has claimed that his phone was hacked by the Russian state, who then gave the media details of a secret £5 million gift from a billionaire for which he may be kicked out of the Commons.
The Reform UK leader – whose party has faced scrutiny over their links with Moscow, including because of a former leader in Wales who was found to have taken bribes to promote Russia – reportedly sent his phone for forensic analysis after the story about the £5m gift appeared in The Guardian.
Farage had wanted to keep the money from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne a secret, and a Reform source told the Daily Mail that “only four people in the world knew” about it.
The Mail further reported that, after his phone had been analysed, experts “concluded that hostile state actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, had used ‘spear phishing’ tactics to compromise his phone, email and bank accounts”.
Farage said: “These actions by Russia are deeply concerning and highlight the threat they pose to British security.”
The Reform UK leader also questioned “The Guardian’s judgment and whether Reform can cooperate with them in future”, although there was no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the newspaper.
The revelation of the £5m gift has prompted an investigation by parliamentary authorities into whether Farage broke Commons rules by deciding not to declare it following his election as an MP in 2024.
Farage has claimed the money was a “personal” gift he received before deciding to stand for Parliament again and was meant to pay for his private security for the rest of his life.
However, the Reform leader was reported to have bought a £1.4m house with cash in 2024, shortly after receiving it.
Farage has insisted the gift was unconnected with the purchase of the house, which a party spokesperson said had been funded by his fee from appearing on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2023.
But analysis of Farage’s company accounts, reported by the Financial Times, showed they were “not consistent” with his claims the fee from the reality show was used to purchase the property.
Accounts for Thorn In The Side Ltd, Farage’s company, show the business’s cash position increasing from almost £300,000 in May 2023 to £1.7m a year later, and then again to £2m in 2025.
Tax expert Nimesh Shah, from accountants Blick Rothenberg, told the FT the accounts were “not consistent” with the claim Farage bought the house with his fee from the reality show.
LibDem leader Ed Davey said the Reform UK leader’s “silence” suggested “he might realise he might get thrown out” of the Commons as Westminster’s standards watchdog probes whether he broke rules by not declaring the money following the 2024 election.
“The fact that Nigel Farage – he’s never been afraid of getting in front of the camera before, has he? – has now disappeared, suggests that he might realise he’s guilty, he might realise that he has committed an offence, and that he might get thrown out by Parliament,” Davey said.
“Let the investigation judge – that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is going to look at this quite rightly, but his silence suggests and implies guilt.”
Labour chair Anna Turley said last week: “It’s clear he’s treating the public for fools and thinks he can just brush this scandal under the carpet. He can’t.
“First, the reason why a Thai-based crypto-billionaire gave him a multi-million pound donation changed, and now the claims about how he paid for one of his houses is being called into question. His story just keeps on changing.”
