James Manning/PA
Nigel Farage will not be distracted from the General Election by campaigning for Donald Trump, Reform UK has said, after its leader attended a London fundraiser for the US presidential candidate.
Mr Farage, who is standing as a candidate in Clacton, was pictured arriving at the event in Chelsea, west London, on Wednesday night, with guests including Mr Trump’s son, Donald Jr.
Tickets for the fundraiser cost up to 100,000 dollars (£78,000), the Financial Times reported.
Asked whether Mr Trump’s event could interfere with Mr Farage’s own campaign efforts, a Reform party spokesperson said: “What Nigel gets up to is his call. It would be absurd to suggest he’s not concentrating on the campaign.
“We’ve got over 600 candidates running in this election – I’m utterly uninterested in what Nigel wants to do on one night.
“He’s doing a fantastic job on the campaign.
“This is tittle-tattle of little importance. I don’t think anyone can suggest he’s not putting his heart and soul into this campaign.”
The fundraiser has already raised two million doctors (£1.57m) through donations and ticket sales, according reports.
The event is being hosted by actor and singer Holly Valance and is billed as a reception and dinner with Donald Trump Jr and his fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host, it has been reported.
Prominent financial backers of Mr Trump and former European ambassadors who served under him during his premiership are expected to be in attendance, according to the Financial Times.
Valance and her husband Nick Candy, a real estate developer who was also reported to be hosting the event, were pictured with Mr Trump and Mr Farage at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
Meanwhile, a fundraiser for Democratic candidate President Joe Biden also took place in London on Wednesday night and was believed to have been hosted by American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
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