Nigel Farage is under scrutiny for not declaring his use of a donor's helicopter for campaign rallies. The helicopter belongs to Lorenzo Zaccheo, who donated £25,000 to Farage's party last year.
Key points
Nigel Farage used a donor's helicopter for rallies.
The helicopter belongs to Lorenzo Zaccheo.
Zaccheo donated £25,000 to Reform UK last year.
Reform UK claims flights were paid at commercial rates.
Nigel Farage is facing questions about why he did not declare his use of a donor’s helicopter to travel around Britain for rallies.
The helicopter, which was used by Farage as recently as Friday after local elections across Britain, is the property of a company owned by Lorenzo Zaccheo, a businessman who gave Reform £25,000 last year.
Farage was pictured in May last year getting off the helicopter in Kent after his party won the county council elections there, and data shows that it has travelled to and from other locations on dates when Reform rallies were being held.
When questioned about why Farage had not declared the travel, Reform UK said the flights had been paid for “at commercial rates” and there was “no undeclared registrable interest” arising from those flights.
Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, said: “Nigel Farage has form on being less than transparent about the cost of flights. It looks like he massively underdeclared the commercial cost of private jet trips to the Maldives donated by his billionaire backer, Christopher Harborne.
“Now he expects us to take at face value, without providing a shred of evidence, an assertion that Reform paid full commercial rates for helicopter flights provided by another wealthy donor.
“The parliamentary watchdog has already rapped Farage on 17 counts of rule-breaking. If Nigel Farage wants the public to have confidence that this is all above board, Reform need to show the receipts and say who paid for these helicopter jollies.”
Q&A
Why did Nigel Farage not declare the use of a donor's helicopter?
Farage has not provided a clear explanation for failing to declare the helicopter use, but his party claims the flights were paid for at commercial rates.
Who owns the helicopter used by Nigel Farage?
The helicopter is owned by Lorenzo Zaccheo, a businessman who donated £25,000 to Farage's party, Reform UK, last year.
What is the significance of the £5 million gift to Nigel Farage?
Farage may face an inquiry regarding an undeclared £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, which he claims was for personal security.
What has Reform UK said about the helicopter flights?
Reform UK stated that the flights were paid for at commercial rates and that there was no undeclared registrable interest from those flights.
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The Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said: “Between these flights and the serious questions regarding his £5m gift from a crypto billionaire, Farage’s finances appear to be shrouded in secrecy.
“The British people have a right to know who is paying for Farage’s high-flying lifestyle.”
The twin-engined, 2009-build Eurocopter at the centre of the latest questions was used to travel to Birmingham on 28 March last year, the day Reform UK held a major campaign launch rally at Arena Birmingham, a favourite venue of the party.
On the following day it travelled from Birmingham to Kent, which is where Zaccheo’s company, Alcaline Aviation, is based. Farage was pictured that week speaking to the businessman at his company’s headquarters as Reform launched its campaign for the county council elections.
A month later, on 2 May, Farage was photographed exiting the helicopter at an election party in Maidstone, Kent, after Reform swept to power in the county council.
MPs have 28 days to register flights costing more than £300 which are not paid for personally or by public funds in parliament’s register of members’ financial interests.
When asked why Farage had not declared the flights, a Reform UK spokesperson said the question “proceed[s] from an incorrect premise”.
“The flights to which you refer were paid for at commercial rates. There was therefore no gift, donation, benefit, or benefit in kind provided to Mr Farage by Mr Zaccheo or Alcaline Aviation, and no undeclared registrable interest arising from those flights,” they added.
“The fact that a commercial supplier, or its owner, may separately have made a properly declared political donation does not convert paid-for services into a personal benefit or donation in kind. Any suggestion that Mr Farage received undeclared helicopter travel would therefore be false.”
Zaccheo said Reform’s statement was accurate.
“We only know the number of passengers and their weights until the contract is signed and payment is received. I would never allow anyone to use our assets without payment, he said.
The businessman, whose Kent-based helicopter charter company specialises in events and private charter and has a fleet of three helicopters.
He has spoken out in the past on issues including the fines faced by hauliers for inadvertently having migrants aboard their lorries.
