Reform UK MP calls Farage standards investigation a 'kangaroo court'

A Reform UK MP has complained that the standards system investigating Nigel Farage over undeclared gifts is a “kangaroo court”.

Sarah Pochin, the Runcorn MP, said Farage had called a byelection in his Clacton seat so voters could decide whether they backed him or not, and argued that “the media, the British state and the old parties have mounted a vicious and desperate campaign to stop Reform UK”.

She posted on X: “We can’t call a general election, so rather than submit to a kangaroo court in parliament, Nigel Farage has handed the power back to the people of Clacton. P.S. Clacton was once one of the safest Tory seats … now they won’t even field a candidate against him. Wonder why?”

Farage had previously said the investigation into him by the parliamentary standards watchdog was “being used as a political tool” and Reform sources had suggested the commissioner and committee were illegitimate.

However, Pochin’s remarks go further in suggesting that the process is unfair, with a predetermined verdict, and mark an escalation of Farage’s supporters attempting to undermine the standards system.

Her remarks echo those of Boris Johnson, who claimed that the privileges committee was a “kangaroo court” when it found he deliberately misled parliament over Covid rule-breaking in No 10.

The standards commissioner is currently looking into whether Farage should have declared a £5m gift from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne given to him before the last election. Farage has always said he was not in politics at the time the gift was made.

The inquiry was later widened to look at whether he should have declared support from his friend and fraudster George Cottrell, who provided accommodation at one of the London homes he rented to Farage, and also paid for some social media filming in 2024.

Farage told the Triggernometry podcast over the weekend that it was “totally undeclarable in every single way”.

He acknowledged that the parliamentary standards system could find against him but claimed he had sought advice from a “top international lawyer” who told him the £5m did not need to be declared because it was unconditional and had a document drawn up saying it was given freely.

The rules state that gifts and benefits in kind have to be declared for the 12 months prior to an MP entering parliament, but only if they are political.

Farage is fighting a byelection against more than 30 candidates in Clacton but none of them are from the main parties, as they decided to boycott the contest.

He could potentially face a second byelection if the commissioner finds against him with a substantial sanction recommending suspension from the Commons, triggering a possible recall petition. In that possible second contest, the major parties have vowed to stand against him.