Nigel Farage has apologised for 17 breaches of the MPs’ code of conduct after failing to declare £380,000 of income on time. The Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton described himself as an “oddball” who does not use computers, blaming the errors on administrative failures by his staff.
Farage said he relied on a senior staff member to submit his income to the register of interests and was let down, but accepted full responsibility. He attributed the lapses to “severe growing pains” as Reform UK was overwhelmed by administration and emails after gaining MPs at the 2024 election. The undeclared interests included work as a broadcaster for GB News and payments from Google and X for social media output.
Farage, the highest-earning MP, had previously admitted breaching rules by failing to register a trip to Florida for a Donald Trump fundraising event. In his response to the standards commissioner, he said: “Why have payments that have gone into my account been delayed? Gross, gross administrative error… I don’t do computers. I rely on other people to do those things for me.”
Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg found the breaches were high in number and value but accepted they were inadvertent. Farage apologised, stating: “If your staff mess up, ultimately you’re responsible.” A Labour Party spokesperson criticised him for being distracted and “lining his pockets” rather than serving constituents, and pledged to tighten rules on MPs’ second jobs.
