Podbit · The Rest Is Politics
An amendment to the Representation of the People Bill would force MPs to declare large sums received in the 12 months before they entered Parliament. The loophole Farage exploited — receiving millions before becoming an MP and never declaring it — could soon be closed by law.
Where this was said
At 6:02 · chapter starts 3:38
Alastair introduces Cat Neilan and immediately fires a battery of listener questions about the £5 million gift — is there more to find out? Has it damaged Farage? Cat explains from the outset that Harborne's lawyers insisted on the word 'gift' rather than 'donation,' and that The Guardian's Anna Isaac deserves full credit for uncovering the story because Farage clearly had no intention of declaring it [1] — Cat Neilan "The £5 million gift from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne was never voluntarily declared by Farage. It only came to light…" 03:35 . Cat outlines the two tracks of accountability now in play: the Standards Commissioner investigation, which many experts believe will find Farage in breach of the code of conduct, and an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill that would force MPs to declare large sums received in the 12 months before becoming an MP [2] — Cat Neilan "An amendment to the Representation of the People Bill would force MPs to declare large sums received in the 12 months before they entered P…" 06:02 . The sheer size of the sum, Cat notes, means any suspension could be long enough to trigger a by-election in Clacton.
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