BANK OF ENGLAND GOVERNOR WOULD HAVE DELAYED FARAGE MEETING

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, stated he would have postponed a meeting with Nigel Farage had he known at the time that a parliamentary inquiry would be launched into Farage's undisclosed £5m donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Bailey met Farage in September to discuss the Bank's cryptocurrency regulation plans, months before the donation was revealed in April. Bailey said the gift would have constituted "a material fact" in deciding whether to proceed with the meeting. He added he did not regret holding the meeting and described it as "a perfectly polite exchange of views".

Harborne, a Thailand-based investor with an estimated £18bn fortune substantially derived from cryptocurrency, has funded two-thirds of Reform UK's political spending. He holds a significant shareholding in Tether, a stablecoin issuer, and reportedly generates as much as £1bn annually from that holding. Farage has stated he used the September meeting to urge Bailey to abandon the Bank's plans for a state-issued alternative to Tether stablecoins and to drop proposals for caps on individual ownership of stablecoins. The Bank eventually dropped the individual ownership cap following a consultation, though Bailey defended the change as a regulatory decision based on enforcement practicality rather than external pressure.

Bailey, who also heads the Financial Stability Board international watchdog, previously stated he was able to identify and resist lobbying efforts. He maintained that Farage's position on the Bank remained clear during their discussions. The meeting has drawn scrutiny given the undisclosed nature of Harborne's substantial financial backing for Reform UK and his direct financial interests in cryptocurrency regulation outcomes.