The Mirror can reveal that Reform Leader Nigel Farage changed his story twice over the purchase of his luxury Clacton pad, which saved him and his partner £44k in stamp duty
Slippery Nigel Farage faces fresh questions over his tax affairs as the Mirror can reveal he changed his story not once but twice over the purchase of his luxury constituency home.
We revealed last weekend that it was Mr Farage’s partner Laure Ferrari who bought a property in his Clacton constituency, not the Reform leader himself, though he said in November: “I have bought a house in Clacton.” It is Ms Ferrari’s only asset so she paid standard stamp duty rates on the £885,000 home.
Mr Farage, the owner of a £3million property empire, would have paid an additional 5% had he bought it as he claimed – around £44,000. He later said he had misspoken when he said he bought the house.
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He assured us last Friday that Ms Ferrari purchased the property with her own money, saying: “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.”
A BBC investigation found no evidence that Ms Ferrari and her family have the wealth to purchase the house mortgage-free. Her parents live in a £300,000 flat in Strasbourg, France.
And we can now reveal that Mr Farage gave us an entirely different – but equally incorrect – version of events in August. He said: “I am selling and moving. One residential property to me soon.”
He was referring to selling the £1m family home near Sevenoaks, Kent, that he kept in the split from his second wife, and buying the Clacton house. But in another confusing twist, according to the Land Registry, Farage still owns the Sevenoaks house.
He tried to explain the apparent discrepancy between Land Registry records and his story, telling us: “It will be sold. Been delays. Soon as possible.”
He also owns another three buy-to-let properties, all bought since Brexit. Anna Turley MP, chairwoman of the Labour Party, said of his Essex pad: “Nigel Farage repeatedly misled his constituents and the British public about buying a home in his constituency. There are now far too many unanswered questions about the house he stays in while in Clacton.
“He must urgently come clean with the public as to whether he financially contributed towards the purchase of this property. Misleading the public for political gain about buying a constituency home is appalling in itself. But if he deliberately put in place this arrangement to avoid paying his fair share of tax, that would be even worse.”
Mr Farage’s solicitors, Grosvenor Law, said they had received written advice from a leading tax lawyer, insisting there is “no basis to suggest there has been any improper avoidance or evasion of tax” over the house purchase. A Reform spokesman told the BBC: “Laure Ferrari is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the property.
“It belongs solely to Laure and was purchased with funds which belong to her. All taxes were properly paid. Nigel has no financial interest in the property whatsoever.”
Pressure has been mounting on Mr Farage since The Mirror challenged him over the house purchase. An online petition demanding he release his tax returns had last night gathered more than 54,000 signatures.
The petition, created by voter Ben Test, says: “Transparency is not just a nice-to-have in political figures; it is essential to maintaining public trust. It is of paramount importance that the leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, be forthcoming about his financial dealings by releasing his tax returns for public scrutiny.”
Mr Farage has declared more than £800,000 in earnings on top of his £93,904 MP’s salary since being elected to Parliament. Asked whether he would release his tax return, he said it was not necessary. He added releasing the information would be an “intrusion too far” despite senior politicians including Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Rachel Reeves and Sir Ed Davey doing so.