Nigel Farage has admitted to breaching parliamentary rules by failing to register a trip to Florida, where he headlined a fundraising dinner for Donald Trump. The Reform UK leader spoke at a $500-a-head Republican party event in Tallahassee in March, with VIP tickets costing $25,000 (£18,445) including a photograph with the Clacton MP.
In a statement, Farage said he had emailed details of the trip to his office but the information was not added to the transparency register. “Unfortunately, these submissions were not added to the register. This was an error,” he said, adding that a correction and apology would be made.
The MP said the trip was “remunerated in three separate instalments over the course of two months” but did not specify who paid. He claimed he covered his own travel costs. Under parliamentary rules, MPs must register any overseas visit costing more than £300 unless fully paid by themselves or public funds.
The revelation comes amid scrutiny of Farage’s finances, including the purchase of a house in Clacton, Essex, which he initially said he bought himself but later revealed was bought by his partner, Laure Ferrari. Farage’s lawyers have denied any underpayment of stamp duty.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper accused Farage of failing to reveal who funds his trips, saying: “The public deserve to know whether the Trump administration and their cronies are funding these trips, using Farage as a puppet to meddle in British politics.” Labour chair Anna Turley added that Farage had “failed to disclose who funded this US trip” and had “changed his story about where he lives”.
