Farage said the talks came "quite some time after" he received a £5m gift from a Reform donor.

Nigel Farage has told the BBC he discussed the "potential liabilities" of returning to politics before the 2024 general election. It comes after The Sunday Times, external reported Farage had negotiated a deal in March and April 2024 with then-Reform leader Richard Tice to return to lead the party. Farage confirmed he spoke with Tice in spring 2024 to scope out what would happen to Reform's finances if he returned but said it "wasn't a deal, it wasn't an agreement", adding that talks came "quite some time after" he received a £5m gift from a billionaire donor. Labour said Farage's remarks had "blown a gaping hole" in his argument for not declaring the gift after becoming an MP in July 2024. Farage has repeatedly argued the £5m from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne was an "unconditional gift", was intended for his personal security, "wasn't political in any sense at all" and he was not an MP when he received it. Reform's opponents have said he should have declared it in the MPs' register of interests when he was elected to Parliament. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner was investigating whether Farage broke the rules, but the process was suspended when he stood down as Clacton MP last month to force a by-election. Farage said he took this decision as the "people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions". The investigation will be resumed if Farage wins the by-election, which is taking place on 13 August.