"Mr Farage has committed a serious breach of the Code
of Conduct". That's the belief of a European Parliament Advisory
Committee, according to extracts of a document leaked to this programme. Last
month we revealed that after the EU referendum Nigel Farage benefited from
almost half a million pounds from the companies of Brexit backer Arron Banks -
money he didn't appear to declare to the European Parliament, despite being a
sitting MEP at the time. The body is recommending to the Parliament's President
that Farage face the highest penalties and be referred to the European
anti-Fraud Office.
https://youtu.be/ZregJLotrYE
Nigel Farage earns at least €30,000 a month from media
company
Thorn in the Side handles earnings from Brexit party
leader’s media appearances
Jennifer Rankin in Strasbourg
Wed 3 Jul 2019 06.00 BST Last modified on Wed 3 Jul 2019
07.39 BST
Nigel Farage is earning at least €30,000 (£26,900) a month
from his media company Thorn in the Side, his latest earnings declaration
reveals.
Members of the European parliament are required to declare
all income earned on top of their pre-tax monthly MEP salaries of €8,758.
A declaration by Farage dated 1 July shows he earned at
least €30,000 a month gross as director of Thorn in the Side Limited. Farage
also declared his role as unpaid leader of the Brexit party.
Farage is the sole director of Thorn in the Side, a company
he founded in 2011 to handle earnings from media appearances and lectures. The
latest accounts revealed a big jump in the company’s assets, reaching £548,573
for the year to May 2018, compared with just over £157,000 for the previous
year.
The European parliament declaration, filed shortly before
Farage began his fifth consecutive mandate as an MEP, suggests Thorn in the
Side is maintaining healthy post-Brexit earnings.
A spokesman for Farage confirmed the Guardian’s reading of
the declaration but declined to comment. MEPs are required to report their
external incomes to the nearest €10,000.
Farage recently fell foul of the European parliament’s
obligation to reveal expenses after it was claimed he had failed to declare
lavish gifts from the Brexit-supporting tycoon Arron Banks, including rent on a
£4.4m Chelsea home with fixtures and fittings, a car with a driver and a
promotional tour in the US.
Farage initially refused to comment on the claims, while
Banks dismissed them as a smear.
Last week, a European parliament advisory committee
concluded that Farage should face the “highest penalty” for a “serious breach”
of the code of conduct, according to a leaked letter obtained by Channel 4
News.
Under European parliament rules, the decision on penalties
is made by its president. The Guardian has learned that the current president,
Antonio Tajani, whose term is ending, has decided to pass the dossier on to his
successor rather than act on the committee’s recommendations.
The European parliament has long been reluctant to throw the
book at members found to have breached its code of conduct. According to
Transparency International, 24 MEPs were found to have broken ethics rules
between 2014 and 2018, and only one reprimand was issued and none were
sanctioned.
Offences included six MEPs failing to declare luxury trips
funded by Azerbaijan’s autocratic government. Another MEP was censured for
tabling 200 amendments to the EU’s data protection rules that had been copied
word for word from lobbyists.
Farage is one of the highest earners in the European
parliament but had the worst attendance record among British MEPs. Over a
four-year period between 2014 and 2018, he took part in only 40% of rollcall
votes, according to researchers at VoteWatch Europe.
Brexit party MEPs marked their arrival in Strasbourg for the
new parliament’s opening session on Tuesday by turning their backs on a quartet
playing the European anthem Ode to Joy.
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