Nigel Farage has announced that he will trigger a by-election by formally resigning as an MP, in an attempt to defy his political opponents amid a sleaze scandal. The Telegraph has more.

The Reform UK leader announced that he was standing down in his Clacton constituency on Tuesday, and will now stand in the ensuing contest following a string of damaging stories about financial support he has received.

Farage is being investigated by parliamentary authorities over allegations that he did not correctly report a £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency billionaire, before the 2024 General Election. 

He is also facing a second investigation over undeclared donations from George Cottrell, one of his closest associates and a convicted fraudster.

In a statement from Reform’s headquarters in Westminster, Farage claimed that the sleaze investigation was being used as a political tool against him. 

He said that the money he had received from Harborne was being used to tackle the daily threats against him, claiming he is the “most physically and verbally attacked public figure of modern times”.

Announcing he would resign as an MP, he declared that the Clacton poll would be a “people versus the establishment by-election”.

Reform has led the national opinion polls for more than a year and remains the dominant party in Farage’s Clacton constituency. The circumstances of the by-election mean it will now attract significantly more attention than an ordinary ballot.

Farage said he had “never been angrier” over the treatment of his family by the media.

The Reform UK leader said he had “always done my absolute best” to protect the privacy of his relatives.

Farage accused the Editor of the Times of “directly threatening” his daughter’s security by publishing a photograph of her home.

He added: “Worse still, she now has broadcasters haranguing her. Sky News were one of them and when I questioned them on it, they wilfully and deliberately lied and said on their channel that they hadn’t contacted the family.

“Well let me be clear, I will not tolerate intimidation of my family. I will not tolerate the location of where they live being revealed. I will not tolerate any of my family being endangered because of what I choose to do in public life. So yes, you can ask, am I angry, well I’ve never been angrier in my life.”

Worth reading in full.