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On April 23, Nigel Farage made a surprising announcement during an interview with GB News. He is “heavily invested” in fishing as the owner of a commercial fishing vessel: “I’m the only member of Parliament that has a financial stake in the commercial fishing industry [...] I own a commercial fishing boat [...] I have a skipper who runs that boat.”Farage wouldn’t say what the boat is called, only adding that he is involved “in the commercial and recreational side of angling in this country”. The news appeared to come as a surprise to his interviewer, Christopher Hope, a colleague at GB News, who duly included Farage’s purchase of a boat in his Telegraph column — though with no additional information on when the purchase had occurred. But it also came as a surprise to anyone who has read Farage’s entries in the Parliamentary Register of Interests, in which not a single reference to boats or fish can be found among his many other side-hustles and foreign jollies. MPs have to register “any financial interest or other material benefit which a Member receives which might reasonably be thought by others to influence his or her actions, speeches or votes in Parliament”. This would certainly include a commercial fishing vessel even if, as Farage later claimed, he “doesn’t make any money on it”. MPs must also declare non-financial or unremunerated interests. Farage is required to register his finances on an ongoing basis, providing a full disclosure at the start of his term and updating the register within 28 days of any material change to his investments throughout his term. So why is the boat not mentioned on the register of interests published on June 2nd, 56 days since revealing his investment to GB News viewers? How long has Farage been sailing the high seas? Did he buy the boat himself or was it a gift? And why has he chosen not to record his memorable maritime investment? Read the full blog HERE.
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