Nigel Farage has signalled that he wants to stay in frontline politics into his 70s, as he disclosed to GB News that Donald Trump wanted him to be British ambassador to Washington nearly a decade ago.

The leader of Reform UK also spoke publicly for the first time about his decision to accept a £5million pre-election donation from businessman Christopher Harborne, insisting that it was “a personal gift” to keep me safe “for the rest of my life”.

Mr Farage, 62, will be 65 if he leads Reform into the next general election if it is called by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in 2029.

It has been widely expected that Mr Farage will bow out of frontline politics if he does not win the election. Reform has led in the polls for over a year.

However in an interview with GB News’ Chopper’s Political Podcast, Mr Farage signalled for the first time that he wanted to keep going in frontline politics.

Asked if the general election would be Mr Farage’s “last hurrah”, he said: “I’ve been told that for years. There’s no denying that the years are going by. But then, if I was a French or American politician – [look at] Trump and Biden, and Chirac and many, others…”

Jacques Chirac was 62 years old when he first became French President in 1995 and was 74 when he completed his second term in 2007. Joe Biden was 82 years old when he stood down as President in late 2024. Donald Trump is presently 79 years old.

But he added: “All I’m thinking about after eight weeks on the road, I’m thinking about Thursday, 7 May. What happens in these elections? And next Thursday for us is like Becher’s Brook. If we clear Becher’s Brook and we land unharmed, we’ve got a very good path to the next election.”

Mr Farage also disclosed that President Donald Trump had asked for me to be British ambassador to Washington at the start of his first term in the White House in 2017.

Addressing the disparaging remarks about the special relationship by the current UK ambassador, he said: “There’s only one man who should be ambassador, it is perfectly obvious, you would have had none of this nonsense.

“Trump actually asked for it in 2017; Trump actually said ‘make Nigel the ambassador, it would be great for relationships’. And I could have walked into the Oval Office and spoke to him on even terms. He loves the UK. For him the King is brilliant.”

Mr Farage also spoke about the £5million undeclared donation from Mr Harborne before he re-entered politics as Reform UK leader at the 2024 general election.

That came on top of an estimated £12million donated to Reform UK by Mr Harborne over the past year.

He said: “That [the £5million] was a personal gift. That’s an entirely different thing you in… It might just keep me alive.

“Do you know why? Why? Time and again over the years, I’ve asked the state for protection and been refused over and over and over. I’m going to need protection, sadly, for the rest of my life.

“And between 2021 and 2024 when I was out of active politics, I had to pay for my own drivers and my own security – huge amounts of money.

“I was given the money unconditionally as a gift, but I will use it to make sure that I and my family are safe, certainly for the rest of my life.”