Nigel Farage flounders as he's accused of taking £72million from crypto 'sugar daddies'

Nigel Farage flounders as he's accused of taking £72million from crypto 'sugar daddies' Nigel Farage acknowledged Reform may fall foul of incoming foreign donor laws - on a day when Angela Rayner accused him of accepting £72m from 'sugar daddies' and alarm was raised in the House of Lords Floundering Nigel Farage has acknowledged that Reform may fall foul of incoming foreign donor laws after Angela Rayner accused him of accepting £72million from his "sugar daddies". The record-breaking donations from crypto tycoons Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo have sparked an outcry, with Reform accused of "gross hypocrisy" in the House of Lords. Peers heard fears from the government's anti-corruption tsar that wealthy figures are ploughing cash into political parties to help bolster their private profits. And in a speech to trade unionists, Ms Rayner said the mega-rich donors know full well that a Reform government would act in their interests rather than the public's. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Farage said he believes the cash is legal under current rules. However, changes making their way through Parliament would restrict donations from expats to £100,000 - effective from March 25, when they were announced. It is unclear whether the donations, of £36million apiece, would be impacted, as Mr Harborne has been based in Thailand and Mr Delo has lived in Hong Kong. Mr Delo was convicted in the US in 2022 for failing to bring in adequate anti-money laundering controls at crypto firm BitMex, which he co-founded. But he was later pardoned by Donald Trump. It is unclear when the pair moved back to Britain. Asked whether the donations would be affected by new rules on overseas donors, Mr Farage said: "Both these donations are 100% compliant with the law today, of that there is no question whatsoever." But pressed on whether they would be illegal when the March 25 deadline comes into force he said: "I'm not going to go into their particular details. "All I'm going to say is, with the law of the land as it stands, they are both compliant. Now, there is talk, and Angela Rayner was talking about this yesterday, there is talk of them retrospectively declaring donations illegally. Well, that simply cannot be." On March 25 the government announced British citizens living abroad would face an annual cap on their political donations of £100,000. This would be in place for more than a year after their return, ministers propose. A ban on cypto donations - to prevent Britain's enemies ploughing untraceable cash into UK politics - was also confirmed. At the time, the government said: "Critically, both of these measures will come into effect from today." In a speech at the Trade Union Congress (TUC) conference in Brighton, Ms Rayner said: "Nigel Farage’s sugar daddies made their money in crypto. But there’s nothing cryptic about their motives. They know full well that a Reform government will act in their interests, not the public interest. When these Reform donors say they want nothing - they mean it. No workers’ rights; no renters’ rights; no social protections, no safety net, no regulation. Nothing to stand in their way." Referring to Mr Farage making money from personalised messaging service Cameo, she went on: "And if Farage will do you a Cameo for £70, just ask yourself - what would he do for £70million? "How dare they try to compare money from a couple of crypto billionaires to union members’ subs. The most highly regulated political funding we have could not be more different from a couple of off-shore billionaires trying to buy our democracy. "And I tell Nigel Farage - you can’t pay your way out of accountability to the people of this country. So let me be clear. We will defend our democracy and society from any foreign dictator or fascist oligarch who seeks to divide our country and buy our politics. "But we will never undermine the rights of working people to organise collectively and democratically." It comes as tricky polling by YouGov, released on Monday, found 69% of voters have an unfavourable opinion of Mr Farage, including 57% who say they see him in a very unfavourable way. Changes to laws around political donations are included in the Representation of the People Bill, which was backed by MPs last month. The legislation is currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords. On Monday peers voiced their alarm over the donations to Reform UK. Lib Dem Lord Jim Wallace said: "I find it striking that populists who campaign to defend British sovereignty get so much of their money from funny places abroad - Gibraltar for the Brexit campaign, Thailand, Hong Kong, Montenegro and beyond for the Reform Party. "It's gross hypocrisy to claim to represent the sovereign voice of the British people when they depend on money from sunny places." The government's anti-corruption tsar, Barnoess Margaret Hodge, told peers: "Anyone that believes that the donations were made simply to establish a level playing field is frankly both naive and wrong. The truth is large individual donations will at best influence and at worst control the policies and actions of political parties." She pointed to Mr Farage's previous stance on crypto, including his promise to introduce a Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill cutting tax on transactions if he becomes PM. Baroness Hodge said: "Look at Reform, with Farage's statements on crypto, saying we should unquestionably embrace it, planning to cut taxes for crypto traders, promising to lift the cap on the ownership of stable coins..." She added that the massive donations to Reform had given urgency to the debate, saying: "We can't allow our democratic politics to be infected by the corrosive influence of money with rich individuals often donating to secure public policies that bring them private profit." In a speech to trade unionists, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: "We cannot allow our political system to be captured by corporate interests. And, congress, let no one tell you there is any similarity between care workers chipping in a few quid a year through their union and a party bought and paid for by billionaires. "So, we need a proper conversation about how we clean up our politics that doesn't push workers to the margins, but does stop the super-rich corrupting our politics." Reform has insisted that the donations from Mr Harborne and Mr Delo will level the playing field. In a radio interview on Monday morning, the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, could not say when Mr Harborne moved to the UK and whether he pays UK taxes on foreign earnings. Mr Tice said: "Well, I'm not his tax adviser, so I don't know all of his tax details, of course. But he's a highly successful entrepreneur who invests in the UK, and we should embrace that success." Pressed again on when he moved here, Mr Tice added: "I'm not familiar with every day of every week that these individuals spend in the country. We just know that they have complied with the rules and regulations, both existing and proposed." Mr Farage is currently being investigated by the Parliamentary standards commissioner after it emerged he had accepted an undeclared £5million gift from Mr Harborne before becoming an MP. Asked when Mr Delo moved to the UK, Mr Tice again did not have a specific date. "I understand he moved back here many, many months ago," he said. "But again, you know, I'm not their executive assistant responsible for day-to-day diaries."