Bank of England governor says he is ‘able to spot’ lobbying after Farage crypto meeting

Exclusive: Andrew Bailey says no policy changes were made as a result of pressure from crypto tycoon-backed Reform leader The governor of the Bank of England has broken his silence about the pressure Nigel Farage put on him to drop a cryptocurrency policy that could be costly for Reform UK’s billionaire backer, saying he is “able to spot” and resist lobbying. Andrew Bailey’s comments, in a letter seen by the Guardian, come as Farage’s decision not to disclose a £5m gift from the Thailand-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne has triggered the biggest crisis of his political career. On Tuesday, the Reform UK leader said he would resign as an MP amid a parliamentary standards investigation into the payment from Harborne and another into undeclared support from his supporter, the convicted fraudster George Cottrell. Denying any wrongdoing, Farage called for a “people versus the establishment” byelection, but the Conservatives, Labour, Restore Britain, the Greens and Liberal Democrats said they would boycott it, accusing him of trying to divert attention from the financial allegations. Farage has said Harborne asked for nothing in return for providing two-thirds of th