Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has disclosed that his home was targeted in a firebombing attack last year, and that he accepted a personal gift of approximately £5 million from a major party donor to enhance his security.
Attack Details
Speaking to The Telegraph during campaigning for the May 7 local elections, Mr Farage said a lit device was pushed through his letterbox in early 2025 in what he described as an “outright arson attempt”. He was not at home at the time. Upon returning, he discovered the damage: “Luckily it had burned itself out in the porch.”
Police investigated the incident but have not identified any suspects. Mr Farage explained he had not spoken about the attack earlier because doing so would have forced him to increase his security measures further.
Ongoing Threats
The Clacton MP also mentioned other unreported incidents, including “pints of beer being thrown over me” and having to “write off a car once because it was attacked by protesters when I was in it”. He stated: “There are huge dangers in this job. I’m acutely aware of the love for me, but equally the levels of antipathy that exist.”
Security Funding
Mr Farage revealed that Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand who made the largest single donation to a political party from a living person to Reform UK, gave him a seven-figure sum to fund his security in 2024, before Mr Farage re-entered politics. “This money was given to me so that I would be safe and secure for the rest of my life,” he said.
He added that he had previously tried and failed to secure Home Office-funded security, saying: “I don’t think the state will ever help me. I’m very much on my own and will be for the rest of my life, and I have to face up to that grim reality.”
Donor Background
Mr Harborne, a cryptocurrency investor, bolstered Reform UK’s war chest with a £9 million donation last August and has given millions more since. According to The Telegraph, he separately gifted Mr Farage around £5 million, which was not taxed or declared as it did not count as a political donation. Mr Farage said this followed his unsuccessful attempt to get Home Office-funded security in 2019 and after Mr Harborne became concerned about his safety when a milkshake was thrown at him.
Mr Farage commented: “I would rather not be discussing any of this but I am having to because someone has got hold of material about my private finances, which is outrageous, and which I believe was illegally obtained.”
