Reform’s Richard Tice under parliamentary investigation
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice is facing a probe from the parliamentary standards watchdog for failing to declare an interest in a debate.
Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary standards commissioner, confirmed a probe was opened on the 28th July but did not share further details about the scope of the investigation.
Tice claimed it relates to a failure to declare an interest in Israel when speaking about the country in a debate about democracy in the Palace of Westminster.
“Contrary to garbage in [the] media: the Standards Commissioner is considering [a] complaint by [an unnamed] anti -semitic anti Israel lobby group over whether I should have referenced my register of interests at start of a debate on UK democracy and Israeli influence [sic],” he said in response to the announcement.
The commissioner has opted against investigating the deputy leader over a loan from George Cottrell, or “Posh George”, the convicted fraudster who is a close friend of Nigel Farage’s.
Tice is also being investigated by the police over payments his company made to Reform before the 2024 election.
Tice and Farage under scrutiny
He joins Farage, who quit the House of Commons to stand in another by-election in his constituency, in having to face a parliamentary probe.
Farage was investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog over whether he should have declared a £5m donation from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the 2024 election.
The parliamentary probe, which was suspended after Farage quit the House of Commons, also took account of whether he should have declared support from Cottrell following a series of reports in The Guardian and The Sunday Times over their financial ties.
Farage has held that he did not need to declare gifts as he was not an MP yet. The Reform leader is also facing scrutiny over when he planned to become Reform’s leader and stand for election in 2024, which could impact decisions by investigators.
He triggered a by-election in Clacton, which will take place next week, as an affront to the “establishment”. Mainstream political parties chose not to put up candidates, with Farage’s main opponent in the vote being the comedian Count Binface.
Farage could also face a second by-election should he win the upcoming Clacton vote. Should the parliamentary standards watchdog find that he should be suspended from the Commons upon his return, he would have to contest the seat again.
Major parties have vowed to put up candidates against Farage in the scenario he has to face a second by-election. Restore Britain’s Rupert Lowe, the former Reform MP and hard-right politician who is seen as a key threat to Farage’s rise, has offered to strike a deal with the party and “put differences aside”.