Reform UK leader Farage faces parliamentary probe over nearly $7m gift

If found guilty, the right-wing populist could be suspended from the House ⁠of Commons for a period of time.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is facing an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over a $6.7m (5 million pound) gift from a party donor, days after the anti-immigrant party emerged as the biggest winner in local and regional elections.A spokesperson for Reform UK denied any wrongdoing on Wednesday, telling the Reuters news agency that “[Farage] has ⁠always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UK PM Keir Starmer vows stronger performance as calls for resignation growlist 2 of 3Who could challenge Keir Starmer for the UK PM’s job? Meet the candidateslist 3 of 3‘Potential security risk’: Unpacking the UK’s trust issues with Palantirend of list“We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all,” the spokesperson added.Farage said he accepted the donation from Thailand-based billionaire and crypto investor Christopher Harborne to pay for his personal security before he announced his candidacy in the 2024 national election that brought ‌him into Parliament.He said it was not a political donation, but rival political parties in April accused him of breaking rules, which require members of parliament to declare donations received in the year preceding an election within one month of taking office.The party has topped every national opinion poll since early last year, prompting increased scrutiny of the party’s sources of funding. Last week, elections for about 5,000 seats on 136 local councils in England, as well as in the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales, marked significant progress for Reform UK, including in areas considered Labour heartlands.If the investigation finds ⁠Farage committed a serious breach of parliamentary declaration rules, he could be suspended from the House ⁠of Commons for a period of time. A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, potentially forcing him to stand in a special election for his seat.