Humiliation as Brexit bankroller Arron Banks refused US entry to own Donald Trump party

Brexit bankroller and Nigel Farage pal Arron Banks is unable to attend his own £150,000 party celebrating Donald Trump’s return to the White House after being denied US entry

Brexit bankroller Arron Banks is unable to attend his own £150,000 party celebrating Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to reports.

In humiliation for the multimillionaire businessman, Mr Banks was refused entry to the US. The Brexiteer, who gave more than £8million to the Leave campaign in 2016, was planning to host hundreds of people at a luxurious “Stars and Stripes and Union Jack Party” at a rooftop hotel in Washington DC on Friday night.

Guests are expected to include Elon Musk, Nigel Farage and former PM Liz Truss. Mr Trump is also invited. But according to the Sunday Times, Mr Banks is set to miss his own bash after his ESTA, an electronic entry permit to the US, was blocked. A furious Mr Banks appeared to mockingly declare that he would instead cross the border from Mexico “along with the hundreds of thousands of gang members” to join the party.

Mr Banks has been embroiled with a legal battle with Guardian and Observer journalist Carole Cadwalladr after she claimed he had a “covert relationship with the Russian government”. The Brexit man originally lost his case but then won a partial victory in the Court of Appeal in 2023 – and Ms Cadwalladr was ordered to pay legal costs. But she is seeking to appeal the ruling at the European Court of Human Rights, with her lawyers highlighting that Ms Cadwalladr “established that over 90% of the publications Banks sued on were lawful public interest speech”.

Controversial Mr Banks was previously investigated by the National Crime Agency after the Electoral Commission fined it £70,000 for exceeding spending limits. The NCA found “no evidence” of criminal offences.

Mr Banks blasted the decision to deny him US entry, branding it “a political decision and revenge for the failed Russia Hoax”. In a long statement, he ranted about President Joe Biden being to blame and hit out at the “dying fake media”.

He was also backed by Reform UK leader Mr Farage, who posted online: “Arron Banks is a good man and a friend of America. It is astonishing that US Citizenship and Immigration Services have denied him entry for the inauguration.”

In a statement in the Sunday Times, Mr Banks aid: “I am shocked that that US embassy have blocked our visa to the US. This is a political decision and revenge for the failed Russia Hoax perpetrated on both sides of the Atlantic. The Biden administration weaponised corrupt lawfare, politics and the ‘dying fake media’ and President Trump fought it all to win the election, the biggest comeback in political history.

“President Trump was the victim of the Russia Hoax in the US and I know better than most what that felt like. I was accused of Russian collusion in the Brexit campaign, investigated and cleared by the National Crime Agency. I sued the journalist that made these fake claims and won damages and costs in the London High Courts. I would estimate it cost me over £100million in lost business and legal fees. My businesses were de-banked and attacked by vicious opponents during this period. All for supporting Brexit and President Trump.”

A US embassy spokesman told the newspaper: “Visa records are confidential under US law, therefore we cannot discuss the details of specific visa cases.”