Reform UK leader questioned over undeclared use of donor helicopter

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is facing renewed scrutiny after failing to declare travel in a helicopter owned by Lorenzo Zaccheo, a businessman who donated £25,000 to the party last year. Publicly available data analysed by the investigative site Democracy for Sale has recorded the aircraft's movements in 2025, showing travel to and from locations where Reform rallies were held. Specific flights include a trip to Birmingham on 28 March, the day of a major campaign launch, and a subsequent journey to Kent.

The helicopter, operated by Zaccheo's company Alcaline Aviation, was used to transport Farage to rallies across Britain, including in Kent and Birmingham, following local elections. While Reform UK maintains the flights were paid for at commercial rates, political opponents argue the arrangement lacks transparency, particularly amidst ongoing questions regarding a separate £5m donation Farage received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Reform UK's spokesperson stated the flights were paid for at commercial rates and that there was no undeclared registrable interest, asserting that a separate political donation from Zaccheo does not convert paid services into a personal benefit.

Zaccheo confirmed he would never allow anyone to use his assets without payment, noting his company only knows passenger numbers and weights until a contract is signed and payment is received. His twin-engined, 2009-build Eurocopter was used to travel to Birmingham on 28 March last year, the day Reform UK held a major campaign launch rally at Arena Birmingham. On the following day it travelled from Birmingham to Kent, which is where Zaccheo's company, Alcaline Aviation, is based. Farage was pictured that week speaking to the businessman at his company's headquarters as Reform launched its campaign for the county council elections.

A month later, on 2 May, Farage was photographed exiting the helicopter at an election party in Maidstone, Kent, after Reform swept to power in the county council. MPs have 28 days to register flights costing more than £300 which are not paid for personally or by public funds in parliament's register of members' financial interests. When asked why Farage had not declared the flights, a Reform UK spokesperson said the question proceeds from an incorrect premise, adding that any suggestion that Mr Farage received undeclared helicopter travel would therefore be false.

Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, said Nigel Farage has form on being less than transparent about the cost of flights. She noted that he massively underdeclared the commercial cost of private jet trips to the Maldives donated by his billionaire backer, Christopher Harborne. She argued that now he expects the public to take at face value, without providing a shred of evidence, an assertion that Reform paid full commercial rates for helicopter flights provided by another wealthy donor.

The Liberal Democrats' deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said that between these flights and the serious questions regarding his £5m gift from a crypto billionaire, Farage's finances appear to be shrouded in secrecy. She stated that the British people have a right to know who is paying for Farage's high-flying lifestyle, demanding receipts and clarification on who paid for the flights.