'It was Nigel or no one': there's gold in those bullion ads for fill-your-boots Farage

A £280,000 payment to the MP for promotional work raises questions over the lack of clarity in the register of interests

- Catherine Neilan Whitehall Editor

For Paul Withers, co-founder of the precious metals trader Direct Bullion, the decision to hand Nigel Farage £280,000 for recording a handful of promotional adverts was easy. "I wanted him," said Withers. "There was no plan B - it was either Nigel or no one.

Direct Bullion, which encourages savers and investors to buy gold, had been advertising on multiple channels. Indeed, an archived version of its website dating from after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shows it had advertised on TV news network RT, formerly known as Russia Today.

But when GB News was launched in 2021, Withers paid attention.

The former Royal Navy electronic warfare technician said to The Observer: “We were the main headline sponsor when [GB News] first launched, then Nigel joined the news channel, so we sponsored around his show — and that’s when we got the most response. So then we would purposely load up on the adverts.”

Withers sought an introduction and the pair had “good conversations” that led to the offer of a deal.