Boris Johnson tied to another potential sleaze scandal, you say? Colour us surprised. A report published by The Nerve and written by Carole Cadwalladr claims to have received documents which show Christian Harborne – Nigel Farage’s mega donor – allegedly has interests in other MPs.
Did Boris Johnson also fail to declare a gift from Christopher Harborne?
It’s worth noting that Mr. Harborne has vowed to take legal action against The Nerve, noting his protestations against their article. However, Cadwalladr and co-author Charlie Young are standing by their findings – and state that they have the receipts to prove their points.
According to The Nerve, Boris Johnson was allegedly gifted the use of a private jet and a pilot by Christopher Harborne in January 2023. The leaked documents cited by the publication detail that the aircraft was for ‘personal use’, months after he resigned as Prime Minister.
The issue is, however, that these flights were not listed among the Register of Member’s Interests. This would be a serious issue if so, as Mr Johnson remained in post as an MP following his departure from Downing Street – making this an undeclared expense.
Same donor, same offence?
It is, essentially, the same issue which Nigel Farage is facing a Parliamentary investigation for. Harborne lined the Reform’s leaders pockets with a cool £5 million back in 2024, just weeks before Mr. Farage decided to run for Parliament as the MP for Clacton. The money was not declared by the veteran Brexiteer.
Cadwalladr also claims that Johnson was the recipient of a £1m gift from Harborne in November 2022. This financial injection was, however, declared by the Uxbridge MP, yet no reasoning for the donation has been provided by either party.
As reported by The Times this weekend, Mr. Harborne – who has ended up embroiled in a major scandal regarding his donations to Farage – has updated his registered address to a farm in Berkshire on the Electoral Roll. This means that he is now eligible to vote as a UK resident.