Reform’s Jake Berry grilled over Farage’s £5 million gift and house purchase

Reform turncoat Jake Berry was grilled over Nigel Farage’s £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and the purchase of a £1.4 million house. 

On Newsnight last night, Victoria Derbyshire grilled Berry about how Farage purchased a house in Surrey for £1.4 million.

She told viewers that the BBC had asked Farage for an interview last night, but that they had received a “thumbs down emoji” from his team.

Derbyshire added that the BBC has asked for an interview with Farage or a member of his frontbench ten times in the last couple of weeks.

Asked by the Newsnight presenter if Farage’s explanation added up, Berry said that it did. 

The former chair of the Conservative Party went on to say: “I’ll tell you what doesn’t add up, is this inference that money received 35 days earlier [from Harborne] enabled him to buy the house.”

Reform has said that Farage used the fee he received from appearing on ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’ to buy the property. 

However, Derbyshire pointed out that an analysis of Farage’s accounts by the Financial Times suggests the £1.4 million payment was still in his media business company account, Thorn in the Side, after the house was bought.

Berry said he had looked at the financial accounts for Farage’s media company, Thorn in the Side, and admitted that it is “hard to pin down” what transactions relate to which area of Farage’s business activities.

He then launched into a rant, complaining that the media should focus on other stories, given that the news about Farage’s undeclared £5 million donation had emerged a month ago. 

“To be talking about this I think is just the mainstream media desperate to keep this story going against Nigel Farage,” Berry said. 

Derbyshire immediately challenged his claim, asking: “So it’s not legitimate for me to be asking questions of Reform about this, is that what you’re saying?”.

Berry responded by saying that he thought it was “stretching credulity to the point of emaciation when we have these very serious stories like youth unemployment over 16% and the BBC thinks this is the main story”.

The BBC newsnight presenter fired back: “It’s one of many issues, we’re capable of juggling a lot of stories if I may”. 

Derbyshire also quizzed Berry on whether there is a link between Harborne donating £12 million to Reform and £5 million to Farage, and the party promoting crypto-friendly policies.

Reform has said that if they were in power they would cut capital gains on crypto trade. 

Berry denied that there was any link, and then added another plug for cryptocurrency, stating: “Crypto is the future of UK financial services, that is why Reform is in favour.”

Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, who also appeared on Newsnight last night, was asked her thoughts about Farage’s £5 million gift.

She said: “This is all too dodgy, this is all too vague. Nigel Farage should publish with complete transparency where his money came from. He should publish the high level of his accounts, not what he’s spending in Sainsbury’s.” 

Chakrabarti added: “There is no such thing as a free lunch. This is not about being successful in business, this is about taking personal donations when you’re also in the running to be prime minister.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward