Bank of England governor says he is ‘able to spot’ lobbying after Farage crypto meeting

Summary

Exclusive: Andrew Bailey says no policy changes were made as a result of pressure from crypto tycoon-backed Reform leader The governor of the Bank of England has broken his silence about the pressure Nigel Farage put on him to drop a cryptocurrency policy that could be costly for Reform UK’s billionaire backer, saying he is “able to spot” and resist lobbying. Andrew Bailey’s comments, in a letter seen by the Guardian, come as Farage’s decision not to disclose a £5m gift from the Thailand-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne has triggered the biggest crisis of his political career. On Tuesday, the Reform UK leader said he would resign as an MP amid a parliamentary standards investigation into the payment from Harborne and another into undeclared support from his supporter, the convicted fraudster George Cottrell. Denying any wrongdoing, Farage called for a “people versus the establishment” byelection, but the Conservatives, Labour, Restore Britain, the Greens and Liberal Democrats said they would boycott it , accusing him of trying to divert attention from the financial allegations. Farage has said Harborne asked for nothing in return for providing two-thirds of the funding received by Reform and its predecessor, the Brexit party. But the Guardian revealed in June that Farage used a private meeting with Bailey in September to demand that the Bank drop plans for a state-issued rival to the cryptocurrency that appears to make Harborne as much as £1bn a year. I can assure you that we are able to spot this and appropriately discount it.” Bailey goes on: “Following our meeting, Mr Farage spoke with the press outlining that we had discussed a range of topics, including cryptocurrencies.” Farage has, Bailey says, “made his views about cryptocurrency regulation in the UK” and on the Bank’s plan to issue a digital currency “very clear”. Bailey writes: “I am happy to confirm that no policy changes have taken place as a result of interventions by Mr Farage.” Last month, when the Bank issued its updated policy on stablecoins, it said it was still considering issuing its own digital currency. Previously its spokesperson has responded to the Guardian’s questions about Farage’s lobbying on crypto policy by saying: “This is utter rubbish. Reform’s sole piece of draft legislation is a bill that would cut taxes on crypto profits.