Farage Accused of Accepting Undeclared Support from Convicted Fraudster
Nigel Farage's leadership of Reform UK has been rocked by allegations that he accepted undeclared support from convicted fraudster George Cottrell. According to a new investigation, Cottrell bankrolled parts of Farage's political operation before the July 2024 general election.
Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff who overhauled Farage's social media presence, producing content on immigration that boosted both the leader and his party. He also let Farage use a five-storey townhouse near Buckingham Palace for tens of thousands of pounds each month.
Farage registered only one Cottrell benefit, a £9,253 trip to Belgium in April 2024, and disclosed nothing of the wider operational support. Cottrell served eight months in a US prison in 2017 for wire fraud and now runs an offshore crypto-gambling venture while seeking a pardon from Donald Trump.
Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde referred the case to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, arguing that the support's value raised serious questions over Farage's duties. A Reform spokesman denied any breach, dismissing the report as 'baseless and contrived' and noting it covered a period before Farage stood for Parliament.