Former leader of Ukip Nigel Farage and current leader of Ukip Paul Nutall are under investigation by the european parliament for misuse of funds. Six other Ukip meps are also under investigation, which could lead to repayments of up to £500,000.
Farage allegedly owes £84,000
Financial regulators of the European parliament are investigating eight of Ukip’s 20 MEPs, who are accused breaking rules that ban EU-funded parliamentary assistants from working for the national party. Farage and fellow Ukip MEP Raymond Finch, reportedly, will be asked to repay around £84,000 to their joint assistant, Christopher Adams.
Under EU financial rules, full-time MEP assistants are not permitted to undertake paid work for a national political party. Three of the assistants in question worked for Paul Nuttall, Ukip's leader who is attempting to become Ukip’s second MP in Westminster in the Stoke byelection later in the month. Each one of the European parliament’s 751 MEPs is entitled to €23,400 a month to pay for staff members to run offices in Brussels, plus €4,342 in office expenses per month.
Ukip will appeal the allegations
A spokesman for the United Kingdom Independence Party staunchly dismissed the allegations levelled at Farage and Nutall: 'We have been in Brussels since 1999 and we have seldom had any issues with the financial side of things.
Post-Brexit, it appears that there is a lot of malice aimed at Ukip MEPs, which is evidenced in the way that the European parliament are acting. We will be appealing every one of the allegations'. Yesterday, Paul Nutall was accused of fraudulently registering a different address to the one he was currently occupying for the Stoke byelection, which Ukip are the favourites to win.
Ukip's former leader, Nigel Farage, was in a typically cantankerous mood following yesterday's successful passage of Theresa May's Brexit bill through parliament. Although MPs voted 498-114 in favour of the bill, Farage branded the 114 MPs that voted against the bill as 'enemies of democracy'. Despite Farage's integral role in Brexit, Farage has shown, yet again, an unwillingness to leave the political spotlight.
