Brexit Party accused of hypocrisy after failing to abide by court ruling on £22,000 bill

The Brexit Party has been accused of “hypocrisy” over an unpaid bill of at least £22,000 after it refused to pay its debts despite an order from a Scottish court.

Nigel Farage's former party, the Brexit Party, owes one Scottish company at least £22,000. Picture: PA

Victor Shields, director of VMS Enterprises, was forced to take the party – since rebranded as Reform UK and led by Richard Tice – to court over the bill from the 2019 general election.

Despite Glasgow Sheriff Court agreeing the party should pay up, it has consistently refused to answer letters or pay the sum owed to the businessman, forcing him to take further legal action in England.

The court stated the party was liable for the bill for advertising services, including giant billboards after some invoices were paid by Brexit Party staff and others were not questioned.

Reform UK said it would continue to reject the claim.

The dispute has led to a excoriating attack on Mr Tice and his party from Mr Shields, who labelled them hypocrites for failing to pay what they owe.

Mr Shields now estimates he is owed at least £40,000 once legal expenses are taken into account.

He told The Scotsman: “I was quite happy to keep quiet after the judgement because I assumed they would respect the Scottish Courts and duly pay us.

"They don't care. They feel they are above the law

"Richard Tice is positioning himself to the right of Boris [Johnson] and trying to capture the Conservative voters, Scottish voters too and here we are being forced to go to English courts, for me being forced to spend further money, to try and recover a debt that is legally due to us."

The court case saw the organisation of the Brexit Party, then led by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, described as “shambolic” by a party official as it struggled to cope with its popularity and decision to pull hundreds of candidates from the ballot paper ahead of polling day.

Witnesses told the court the organisational structure of the party “visibly started to fall apart” and was “very unprofessional” and “beyond chaotic” ahead of the 2019 election.

Mr Shields said the approach of the party to a small business such as his showed the Reform UK policies of supporting small and medium-sized British businesses was a sham.

He said he had heard of other suppliers who had been told they must take the party to court to be paid.

"They are trying to seek positions of power in the UK, within government, that's their ideal aim," he said.

“That's what Richard Tice is all about.”

Mr Shields added: "His Scottish pitch is to help grow the economy, support and grow self-employed and small businesses, do you think small businesses would be pleased to know that … it is just complete hypocrisy.”

A spokesperson for Reform UK said: "This is not a valid claim, which was also made in the wrong jurisdiction. The Brexit Party LTD will continue to reject the claim."

In the original judgement from Sheriff Reid in Glasgow, he stated the Scottish courts were the correct jurisdiction for the case due to VMS Enterprises being registered in Glasgow.

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