Nigel Farage ‘did not declare financial support from convicted criminal’
Nigel Farage received financial assistance from a convicted criminal in the year before he entered parliament, potentially breaking MPs’ rules by not declaring them, a new report has revealed.
Long-time aide George Cottrell provided funding for the Reform UK leader’s operation, including staff, security and accommodation. Sunday Times reported.
The paper said Cottrell hired and paid three people to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election and continued to allow him use of the five-storey Georgian mansion he rented near Buckingham Palace.
After becoming MP for Clacton in 2024, Mr Farage allegedly booked a £9,000 trip to Belgium donated by Cottrell and added an overdue £15,000 for a US domestic flight, but there was no other support.
Under the rules in force at the time, new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, unless the gift “could not reasonably be considered by others”.
The rules also required MPs to bear in mind that the purpose of registering interests is to provide information about financial interests that “could reasonably be considered by others to influence their actions”.
Reform UK has denied its leader breached its code of conduct.
Independent It contacted Mr Farage and Reform UK for comment.
Mr Farage is currently facing questions over an undisclosed £5 million gift from Thai billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Parliament’s standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, is investigating whether Mr Farage should have registered the gift.
If he is found to have breached the rules, Mr Farage could face sanctions including suspension from the House of Commons, which could trigger a recall petition and a by-election in his seat.
The Clacton MP made several statements, including that the gift was for his personal safety.
Labor has called for a financial watchdog inquiry into whether Mr Farage’s cryptocurrency advocacy has benefited Reform megadonor Mr Harborne; This follows reports that he lobbied the governor of the Bank of England to scrap plans for a state-run digital currency.
Cottrell, a crypto gambling entrepreneur with an involvement in offshore betting company Tether.bet, could also benefit from Mr Farage’s support for crypto, according to The Sunday Times.
Cottrell reportedly remains a close adviser to Mr Farage after first becoming involved with Ukip as a volunteer ahead of the Brexit referendum.
In 2017, Cottrell was sentenced to eight months in prison in the US after pleading guilty to a wire fraud charge after admitting trying to defraud criminals on the dark web by posing as a money launderer.
She and Mr Farage were arrested as they returned to the UK after a trip to the US.
Reform UK said: “Given that the newspaper supported Labor at the last general election, it is unsurprising that The Sunday Times chose to publish this baseless and fabricated story, which covers a period when Nigel Farage was not an active politician, let alone elected.
“Contrary to the tone of the story, no parliamentary rules were violated.”
A Labor spokesman said: “Nigel Farage and Reform are in a huge and growing scandal. It’s not going to go away and it won’t help to try to fool the public by saying ‘it’s none of your business’.”
“These new allegations of secret payments by a wealthy convicted criminal come on top of an ongoing scandal over a secret £5 million gift he received from a crypto billionaire. How much money was he given, what did his donors get in return and why did he try to cover it up and avoid legitimate questions?
“Farage repeatedly acts as if he is on the side of working people. In reality he is in this business only for himself and can be bought out by the highest bidder. He is totally unfit for high office.”
