Robert Jenrick says questions about £5m donation to Farage are legitimate

Robert Jenrick told an audience at the British Chambers of Commerce global annual conference that voters had not mentioned the donation to him. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Robert Jenrick told an audience at the British Chambers of Commerce global annual conference that voters had not mentioned the donation to him. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Robert Jenrick says questions about £5m donation to Farage are legitimate Reform MP appears to contradict party leader’s claim money from crypto billionaire is ‘none of your business’ Robert Jenrick has said it is “legitimate” for the media to ask questions about Nigel Farage’s £5m personal donation from a cryptocurrency billionaire, just days after the Reform UK leader told an interviewer it was “none of your business”. Jenrick, who is Reform’s shadow chancellor, said voters on the doorstep were not asking about the money given to Farage by the Thailand-based British crypto investor Christopher Harborne. However, he acknowledged it was not unreasonable for the media to have questions about the £5m, in contrast to Farage’s claim earlier this week that it was a private matter. At the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference, asked by the host, Sophy Ridge, a Sky News presenter, whether Farage was right to say people did not care about it, Jenrick replied: “I’ve knocked on a lot of doors, trust me, in the course of the May local elections, the byelection, and in my own constituency, and I have to say, in all sincerity, not a single person has raised that question with me. “It doesn’t mean that it’s not a legitimate question for the media to ask, but it is not one that, in my experience, is on the tip of the tongue of people across the country.” He added: “But let me answer the question head on. If you ask about influence, there is no donor influencing Reform’s agenda. If you are saying Reform should have a policy on crypto, we should do, it is a significant growth opportunity. “Nigel was given this gift before he was a member of parliament and it is the case that some people in politics face a very severe security threat, and it is right he should be able to protect himself.” View image in fullscreen Nigel Farage is being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner over £5m donation from Harborne. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA Farage became tetchy on Tuesday when asked about the donation, which is now being investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards and was first revealed by the Guardian in April. Reform UK plan to target EU nationals based in Britain ‘absolutely outrageous’ Read more He initially said the money was for security purposes before later saying it was a reward for Brexit. This week he claimed it had not been spent at all but he could buy Ferraris or gamble it on horses if he wanted. On Wednesday, Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, said she had asked the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether Farage’s public