Nigel Farage has said Ofcom has launched an investigation into Sky News over harassment claims made by the Reform UK leader. In July, the politician accused the broadcaster of “harassing” his daughter and released CCTV footage that appeared to show two approaches were made at her home on July 6.
Farage’s complaint
Mr Farage said on Facebook that he was “appalled” by the way members of his family were treated by the news organisation. An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We treat fairness and privacy complaints in strict confidence and do not publicly confirm the identities of individuals involved.”
Mr Farage is being investigated by the Commons standards watchdog over an undeclared £5 million gift from Reform donor and crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne before he entered Parliament. He could also face an investigation over support provided by George Cottrell, a long-term ally.
Dispute background
The Clacton MP insisted he had done nothing wrong as he accused Westminster opponents of using sleaze investigations as a “political tool” and the media of “haranguing” his family. The dispute centres on an incident in July when a Sky News reporter visited a property where Mr Farage’s daughter lives while the Reform leader was out of the country.
On his return, he was questioned by a Sky News reporter about the donation and responded: “You tell your bosses, you harass my family any more, there will be serious consequences, that’s what your organisation has done this morning, now go away.” Questioned again, Mr Farage added: “Did you not hear me? You have broken all the rules, Leveson and everything else, cut.”
Sky News response
Sky News denied approaching the house twice and said its reporters had not interacted with Mr Farage’s daughter. In a post on X, the news outlet said: “Sky News was not at the property at 7.41am. As has already been acknowledged, and as shown in the footage from 10.19am, Sky News was outside a property where Mr Farage was registered to vote at the last election.
“Sky News did not interact with Mr Farage’s daughter. On a single occasion, we approached the property without a camera operator, identified ourselves as Sky News and the adult occupant chose not to engage. We were seeking to contact Mr Farage to ask questions about the gift he accepted from Mr Cottrell. This is a well-established and routine journalistic practice when reporting on matters of legitimate public interest.
“The footage clearly demonstrates that Sky News did not ‘hound’ or pursue Mr Farage’s daughter. At no stage did we seek to speak to anyone other than Mr Farage in connection with this story.”
Political fallout
Days later Mr Farage announced he was quitting as an MP to fight a “people versus the establishment” by-election in protest at what he said was intense and unwarranted scrutiny, adding that the “people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions”. The parliamentary investigation into the circumstances of Mr Harborne’s gift was paused during the by-election campaign, but since winning his seat back in a ballot boycotted by the other main Westminster parties, the probe has resumed. Sky News has been contacted for comment.
