Farage’s partner refuses to confirm how she paid for house in his constituency

Nigel Farage’s partner, Laure Ferrari, has refused to confirm how she paid for a house in the Reform leader and MP’s constituency of Clacton, adding “there’s more than one way to pay for a house”.

In an interview with French publication Le Monde, Ferrari was questioned over revelations in the Guardian that she had purchased a house in her name in Clacton after Farage had claimed to be the buyer.

Farage initially said the arrangement was for “security” reasons. Some months later, he told reporters that Ferrari came from “a very wealthy French family and can afford it” – although a subsequent BBC investigation raised further questions about the size of her family’s alleged wealth.

Quizzed by Le Monde on the issue, the publication said she “dodged” the question. When asked if she bought the property thanks to a family inheritance, she said: “Yes and no, that would be a very large inheritance … There’s more than one way to pay for a house.”

“I can’t say how much my grandmother gave, that’s my business,” Ferrari added. “The main thing is that I paid all the taxes, there was no tax evasion, and the house is in my name.”

Following the interview, Labour called on Farage to clarify how the purchase of the property he uses is Clacton was funded.

“Last week we discovered that Nigel Farage failed to declare a £5 million donation from a crypto-billionaire and this week we discover that Farage’s partner might not have paid for all of his house in Clacton after all,” they said.

“The leader of Reform needs to stop dodging scrutiny and urgently answer questions about this purchase … Farage has failed to be straight with the public over the full facts.”

The Guardian first reported last year that the house in Clacton, which Farage initially said he had bought himself, was in fact wholly owned by Ferrari.

While Farage said the ownership structure was for security reasons, Ferrari purchasing the house would have saved the Reform UK leader an estimated £44,000 in the higher rate of stamp duty to which he would have been liable, given he already owns other properties.

He also denied lending or giving his partner money towards the £885,000 price of the property in Frinton-on-Sea, saying last September: “I haven’t lent money to anybody. I didn’t give her money. She comes from a very successful French family and she can afford it herself. It’s convenient, it works, and she loves it there.”

The BBC investigation found Ferrari’s father’s haulage business in Strasbourg was liquidated in 2020, and her parents were living in a flat in a suburb of the French city worth about £300,000, co-owned by the couple and their two daughters.

The BBC team said the family also owned the former premises of the haulage company, which is rented out for an estimated €8,000-€9,000 (£7,000-£7,800) a month.

The Guardian has contacted Reform for comment.

Ferrari, 46, born in Épinal in eastern France, also claimed in the interview that she “encouraged” three key moments in his political career: leaving Ukip, appearing on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! and running for parliament in 2024 instead of leaving for the US to campaign for Donald Trump.

But she insisted that if Farage became prime minister she would not be involved in the UK’s affairs, adding Carrie Johnson, former PM Boris Johnson’s wife, went too far when they were in No 10.

“She intervened far too much in the country’s affairs,” Ferrari told Le Monde. “If people elect Nigel Farage, they are not electing Laure Ferrari.”

On the likelihood of Farage getting to Downing Street, she said: “I don’t want to tempt fate, but a lot can happen between now and the elections, adding she would look forward to diplomatic events. “I really like ambassador’s dinners, Ferrero Rocher, that sort of thing,” she said.