Nigel Farage 'can never be written off' despite allegations, says Michael Gove
Lord Gove said despite mounting reports claiming Mr Farage received undeclared financial support before becoming an MP, the Reform UK leader still has "an energy and a potency that you can’t write off”
Nigel Farage faces a “pretty serious” challenge over the latest allegations surrounding him, but can “never” be written off, former Conservative minister Michael Gove has said.
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Speaking to Andrew Marr on Monday night, Lord Gove said the Reform UK leader remained a potent political force despite mounting scrutiny over his finances and outside interests.
It comes after claims linked to support he received before becoming an MP, with Mr Farage already under investigation over a reported £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The latest reports claim Farage received undeclared support - including security and social media staff - from crypto-gambler and convicted criminal George Cottrell, in the run-up to his appointment as an MP.
Lord Gove said each allegation may prove to involve legitimate arrangements, but warned some of the claims risk straying into political territory.
He said: “The problem for Farage is that it occupies so much time. And Reform needs momentum in order to move forward.”
Read more: Burnham ranked a 'more capable' future Prime Minister than Farage and Badenoch, LBC poll reveals
Lord Gove said Mr Farage’s supporters were likely to see the scrutiny as part of an establishment effort to damage him, but added that the wider political danger was a distraction.
Discussing the recently emerged allegations, the former Conservative minister told LBC: “I think it is pretty serious because it comes after other revelations.
“Each of these individual things are legitimate business transactions, legitimate gifts between friends, Team Farage say.
“But we will find out when the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards looks at it, because, of course, anything that you receive in the 12 months before you become an MP, unless it's a purely personal gift, you have to declare.”
But he added: “Having someone pay for your security, having someone pay for your social media activity, that takes us dangerously close to what people might consider political territory.”
Despite that, Lord Gove said Mr Farage had repeatedly shown an ability to recover from political setbacks.
“The key thing with Nigel Farage, rather like Boris Johnson, is that you can never write them off,” he said.
“Farage has recovered from everything from plane crashes to the removal of what he considered to be the central issue of his life, Brexit.
“These are difficult times for him. But he has still an energy and a potency that you can’t write off.”
Turning to Andy Burnham, Lord Gove said the biggest test for any incoming administration would be the choice of Chancellor.
“The single most important thing is the question over who the Chancellor of the Exchequer is, because that sets the tone overall,” he said.
He said Mr Burnham would need to avoid the perception of appointing allies on factional grounds and instead build a team on merit.
“I think that the critical thing that he needs to do is to avoid being seen as factional and being able to justify each appointment on merit,” Lord Gove said.
He added that the scale of the challenge facing any Prime Minister meant Mr Burnham would need “the very best possible team”.
Lord Gove also said he wanted Mr Burnham to succeed, describing him as “personable”, “pragmatic” and patriotic.
“I want Andy Burnham to do well,” he said.
“Some of the policy hints, broad hints that he’s given, I think aren’t necessarily in the right direction for the country, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
He also suggested the Conservatives should be more focused on the challenge posed by Mr Burnham than on any short-term difficulties facing Mr Farage.