Nigel Farage was pictured leaving a polling station during the vote on Thursday
A parliamentary standards investigation into a £5m gift received by Nigel Farage has been reopened following the Reform UK leader's by-election win in Clacton.
The investigation into an alleged failure to declare an interest was paused after Farage resigned as an MP last month in response to scrutiny of his financial backing, triggering the by-election.
Farage won with 63% of the vote on a turnout of 44% in a highly unusual by-election that was contested by a record 34 candidates but was boycotted by all of the main Westminster parties.
Farage did not show up at the count, telling supporters Essex Police had warned him of an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
The BBC has been told Essex Police did not advise any candidate that they should not attend the count.
Speaking to supporters before the result was announced, Farage said: "I'm damned if I'm going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I've tried to fight for, and you've tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count."
Reform UK cancelled what the party had billed as a "major speech" by Farage in Clacton on Friday morning and some scheduled media appearances.
In a statement, the Reform leader said: "The verdict is now in, and it is a convincing, overwhelming win, with more votes than we got in the general election of 2024.
"Today, the voters in Clacton have stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he recognised that voters in the area had "come up with their answer" but that the investigation should continue.
"It needs to be resolved to make sure we've got the highest standards in politics, and that's incumbent on all of us, including Mr Farage," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Farage received 22,239 votes, 1,014 more than his winning total at the general election in 2024, when he first became the MP for Clacton, and increased his majority from 8,405 to 12,784.
The turnout was about 14% lower than it was in the 2024 general election in the constituency but about average for recent Westminster by-elections.
Farage's by-election victory won't stop questions about finances
