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Parliament’s Standards Commissioner repeatedly rejected complaints from a member of the public, concerning his allegedly hidden property portfolio, Byline Times can reveal.
One complaint concerned Nigel Farage’s conflicting statements about a Clacton property he claimed to have bought in his constituency during the 2024 campaign.
The Reform UK leader had told Sky News in November 2024 that he had “bought a house in Clacton” and had “exchanged contracts”. But Land Registry data and reporting revealed that the home is in fact owned solely by his partner.
When revelations emerged in September 2025 that it was in fact his partner who officially owned the property, Farage said he was “wrong” to claim ownership.
A voter asked Parliament’s Standards Commissioner to investigate. But the Commissioner replied that November to say they would not examine whether he contributed funds or held any form of beneficial interest.
The Commissioner told Byline Times reader Leon Kings that the standards rules were not triggered because there is no publicly-accessible documentary evidence showing that Farage holds a financial or beneficial interest in the house.
Without that, the office said it could not compel disclosure or examine the circumstances of the purchase. Yet it remains unclear how the £885,000 cash purchase was funded.
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In other words, the standards system could not, or would not, verify the Register for Nigel Farage when a citizen and then an MP asked it to.
Byline Times then investigated other properties linked to Farage.
We found that Thorn in the Side Ltd, which Nigel Farage controls, owns at least two properties in the Folkestone area, in Romney Marsh and in New Romney. We also found a home owned directly by Farage, not in Tandridge (a property declared on his Register of Interests) but in nearby Westerham. The Times’ reporting suggests they are two separate properties.
But the Standards Commissioner ruled that Thorn in the Side’s assets did not need to be registered, as they were owned by a company, not Farage directly – raising a potentially glaring loophole that an MP can simply put their property empires within a company and not have to declare any of it. Farage is the sole director and ‘person of significant control’ for Thorn in the Side. The Commissioner refused to investigate the Westerham property.
‘The Onus Is on the Complainant’
In December, the complainant wrote to his MP, Lib Dem Steve Darling, who in turn pressed the Commissioner for answers.
Darling’s office set out two questions: how a private citizen is supposed to obtain extensive evidence proving wrongdoing, and which body investigates where someone has suspicions but little evidence.
Kings supplied Land Registry titles setting out more information on Farage’s allegedly undeclared property portfolio.
And the Commissioner was not convinced that Kings had provided enough evidence to show Farage owned undeclared properties, despite Kings having provided deeds for the Westerham home.
And finding every property Farage owns is an option out of reach to voters, since name-based Land Registry searches are not available to the public.
In December, the Commissioner effectively closed the complaint down, telling him: “You will understand that the Commissioner does not comment on a Member’s entries in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests outside of a formal inquiry.”
This May, the Commissioner’s office replied to Steve Darling MP, again rejecting the complaint and restating the ‘Procedural Protocol’, writing: “It is not sufficient to make an allegation and expect the Commissioner to look for supporting evidence. The onus is on the complainant to ensure that their allegation is suitably evidenced.”
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‘Five Homes Farage’
At the start of July, the Times published more information on what Labour dubbed ‘Five Homes Farage’ and his ‘hidden property empire’. The paper independently established much of the same factual territory from Land Registry records, triggering national coverage and a wave of condemnation and contributing to Farage’s decision to trigger a by-election in his Clacton seat.
The underlying facts surfaced only once a national title did extensive research that would be unfeasible for an ordinary voter, but which Kings expected the Commissioner to investigate – in his eyes reasonably.
Every element was declined without, apparently, even an email from the Commissioner to Farage for clarification. When the complainant escalated to his own MP, who put the matter to the Commissioner directly, the response was the same: it is for complainants to evidence allegations, despite them having sent Land Registry records setting out Farage’s company-ownership of at least two undeclared properties via his Thorn in the Side Ltd.
Leon Kings, founder of FarageExposed.co.uk, told Byline Times: “My experience was extremely frustrating. I repeatedly reported what I believed were serious issues, providing evidence where I could, but my concerns were largely dismissed or passed between organisations without any meaningful investigation. It felt as though nobody was prepared to take responsibility.
“What is particularly frustrating is that some of the same matters now appear to be receiving proper attention, but only after significant media coverage and MPs became involved. It raises the question of why similar evidence wasn’t taken seriously when it was first reported by members of the public.
“I think there needs to be greater accountability and a clearer process for ensuring credible reports are investigated properly, regardless of who raises them.”
Kings believes his experience shows that “the Commissioner has confirmed the system cannot ensure accuracy,” and that “the public has no mechanism to scrutinise property declarations.”
The Standards Commissioner is now investigating the undeclared £5m crypto donation from Christopher Harborne. The Commissioner has also been asked to investigate undeclared support from ally and convicted fraudster George Cottrell in the year before Farage was elected.
A separate complaint has been made over Farage’s allegedly hidden property portfolio, one of five referrals covering four issues now in front of the Commissioner.
The Standards Commissioner and House of Commons authorities declined to comment.
Got a story? Get in touch in confidence on josiah@bylinetimes.com
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