Nigel Farage Quits As MP To Trigger By-Election Amid Row Over His Finances

Nigel Farage has dramatically quit as an MP to trigger a by-election in his Clacton seat.

The Reform UK leader made the shock announcement amid the mounting furore over his personal finances.

Farage has been under pressure since it emerged in April that he had received a £5 million gift from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before he became an MP.

Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, is carrying out a probe into whether Farage should have declared it – and could recommend he be suspended from the Commons.

By taking matters into his own hands, the Reform boss may be trying to get ahead of the investigation by attempting to secure a fresh mandate from voters in Clacton, who elected him with a majority of 8,400 at the last general election.

Greenberg has also been urged to investigate the financial support Farage accepted from convicted criminal George Cottrell before be entered parliament.

According to the Sunday Times, Cottrell – known as “posh George” – provided funding for Farage’s staffing and security, as well as the use of a London townhouse, before he became an MP.

Under parliamentary rules, new MPs need to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.

Farage has denied any wrongdoing and claimed he is the victim of “an establishment hit job”.

Allies of the Reform leader have described him as “tired” and “stressed” as the pressure mounts, and suggested he needs a break from politics.

His dramatic announcement came a day after he clashed with a Sky News reporter at Heathrow Airport as he returned from America.

Asked if it was a mistake not to declare the financial support he received from George Cottrell, Farage replied: “You tell your bosses, you harass my family any more there will be serious consequences. That’s what your organisation has done this morning. Go away.”

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