Why is Nigel Farage being paid so much to promote a gold bullion company?

Despite the demands of being the MP for Clacton and leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage has found time to develop several alternative income streams since being elected to parliament.

His side hustles include being a social media influencer, presenting on GB News, and a stint recording on-demand videos for the Cameo platform – during which he appeared to endorse a neo-Nazi event, called for the release of the jailed rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and was duped into voicing a pro-IRA slogan.

Farage’s latest gig is his most lucrative yet while being an MP, according to official disclosures, which reveal that he received £270,000 for 12 hours’ work promoting Direct Bullion, a gold dealer for which he acts as a brand ambassador.

That takes his total earnings from the company to £685,500, a mere bagatelle compared with the £5m given to him by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before he became an MP.

But who is behind Direct Bullion and why is Farage worth so much to the company?