The leader of the British party "Reform UK" Nigel Farage said he would quit his seat in the British parliament to trigger a by-election for him, in which he would run again, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Farage announced his intention at the end of a televised statement in which he opposed the interference of the press in his family life and said that people from the political establishment were doing everything they could to hinder his party.
"This by-election will be the people against the status quo," the populist leader said. "I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that "Reform UK" started.
Farage, whose finances have come under scrutiny in recent months, added that he wants his constituents to decide whether they still want him to represent them in parliament. His other goal is to clear his name, Reuters notes.
"I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not misused public money," he said.
Farage is facing an investigation by a parliamentary committee over a £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire in Thailand. Opposition MPs are demanding an investigation and a donation from George Cottrell, an aristocratic cryptocurrency betting entrepreneur who served a sentence for fraud in the US.
No independent journalists were invited to Farage's announcement to film the event or ask questions, the Associated Press notes.