In a heated BBC interview, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice described the Deputy PM’s as position as ‘morally bankrupt’ – before being asked about his own circumstances
Reform UK’s multi-millionaire deputy leader Richard Tice has been confronted on whether he’s the “ideal mean to lecture” under-fire Angela Rayner.
In a heated BBC interview, Mr Tice described the Deputy Prime Minister’s position as “morally bankrupt” and “completely indefensible”. It comes as Ms Rayner’s political future hangs in the balance amid a probe by Keir Starmer’s independent adviser over the stamp duty she paid on a £800k seaside flat in Hove. The PM’s ethic’s adviser’s report could land as soon as today.
But BBC presenter Nick Robinson raised Mr Tice’s previous family offshore trust in the Channel Islands – reported by The Mirror in 2024.
READ MORE: Reform UK’s Richard Tice piled millions of pounds into offshore tax haven property empire
The Reform chief said: “I have been an international businessman who has worked across 12 countries in five different continents. No one wants to pay double taxation but I’ve always been a UK taxpayer that’s always paid my taxes.”
He added: “I had a trust that ensured I didn’t suffer onshore, so I didn’t suffer double taxation. That doesn’t exist anymore, everything is onshore.”
Mr Robinson then asked: “You’re a multi-millionaire who travels every six to eight weeks to visit your partner in Dubai. Do you think you’re the ideal man to lecture a woman who has one home?”
Mr Tice swerved the question and instead hit out at the “outrageous” VAT added to private school fees by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year. The Reform deputy leader’s partner, Isabel Oakeshott, has previously written about how the levy was the “final straw” in her decision to move to Dubai.
During the BBC interview, Mr Tice also appeared to wriggle out of manifesto commitments made by Reform UK at the last general election. He said the manifesto was “not appropriate for a manifesto or a contract whenver the next general election” when grilled on the promises made.
He added: “We will have to deal with whatever nightmare situation the government finds itself in at the time of the next election.”
Ellie Reeves MP, Chair of the Labour Party, responded to the interview, saying: “All anger, no answers. That’s what Reform offer the British people. Nigel Farage’s right hand man can’t answer basic questions about spending plans Reform pledged just over a year ago.
“Farage and his cronies are more interested in encouraging our closest allies to inflict economic sanctions on Britain that would hammer British jobs and leave working people paying the price. It’s about as unpatriotic as you can get.”
READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster