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Latest 02 September 2024

Farage hangs on to job flogging ‘tax-free’ gold since becoming MP

Nigel Farage’s latest declaration of financial interests reveals that his collection of side hustles could net him over £1m this year, on top of his MP’s salary. But even this long list of outside earnings published by parliament fails to tell the full story of his extracurricular activities.

Following his election, the Reform leader has kept his job as ambassador for Direct Bullion – a gold company “specialising in work with High Net Worth individuals”.

Since March, Farage has recorded a series of videos endorsing Direct Bullion and encouraging people to invest in “tax free” gold coins produced by the Royal Mint.

Farage’s webpage for Direct Bullion features claims that “Gold has Maintained its Value for 3,000 Years” and “Gold is Viewed as the Ultimate Asset for Wealth Protection”.

“Farage is a machine for monetising his status,” said Jo Maugham, executive director of Good Law Project. “Wherever there’s money, he’s there; wherever there’s brass there’s muck.”

A video from Farage on Direct Bullion’s social media channels, published after the election, explains how to unlock “the big pensions secret” with gold investment. And on a recent episode of the podcast, Triggernometry, Farage talked about his work with the company. That podcast episode was sponsored by Direct Bullion and carried one of its adverts read out by the presenters.

Should Farage have disclosed his part-time gold flogging gig to Parliament? 

According to the House of Commons Code of Conduct, MPs should declare outside earnings totalling over £300 in a calendar year.

So whether or not his golden side-hustle should have been declared depends on when and how much he was paid. The latest published register of interests for MPs covers the period up to 4 August.

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When the Mirror asked Farage about this as part of a wider investigation, he insisted that he had declared all of his income from his election on 4 July and that his lawyer took care of the submissions.

We also approached Nigel Farage’s parliamentary office for comment.