Why Posh George could be as fatal for Nigel Farage as Peter Mandelson was for Keir Starmer

B.In February this year, Raffles Hotel in Whitehall hosted one of the most interesting book launches of the year.

This was the book co-written by George Cottrell, Nigel Farage’s close friend and confidant. How to Launder Money? – a crime for which he was actually convicted in the US.

Few people had heard of Cottrell at the time, but he is now at the center of the latest scandal engulfing Farage and his party, Reform UK.

The convicted criminal, now making headlines and known to his friends as “Posh George”, could be the catalyst in ending Farage’s bid to become prime minister.

After all, as St. Paul pointed out 2000 years ago, people are judged by the company they keep.

In recent history, we have seen leaders’ political careers end not always as a result of personal failures or abuses, but sometimes because of the people they chose to appoint to key positions or the people in their inner circle.

Just ask Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson.

Starmer’s time as prime minister is largely coming to an end amid the scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US, the UK’s most important diplomatic post.

Previous warnings about Mandelson, including his failure to pass security checks, his alleged dealings with China and Russia, and his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, have all left significant questions about Starmer’s decision.

When it comes to Johnson, people forget that it wasn’t his cake-eating during lockdown or even the Partygate allegations that ultimately led to his downfall. Instead, his decision to promote Chris Pincher to chief deputy – despite past warnings about his behavior – proved to be the last straw, with Pincher again accused of groping.

The same questions are now being asked about Farage and Posh George.

To be clear, Cottrell is not a peripheral figure in Farage’s political life or just an acquaintance. The 32-year-old aristocrat is one of the tightest members of the Reform leader’s inner circle.

Almost all the key figures associated with Reformation were present at the book launch: Farage, deputy leader Richard Tice, Gorton and Denton candidate Matthew Goodwin, policy guru James Orr and others.

Posh George held court with his usual suave and charming demeanor, and he very much embraced his role as a gentleman con artist. There was actually a suggestion that his interest in Victorian popular fiction helped him choose the setting.

Raffles Hotel shares the name of the hero of EW Hornung’s books about a gentleman thief named AJ Raffles.

Cottrell said Independent at the time: “I realize people will see the title of the book and make assumptions, but it is meant as a warning about how easy it is to launder money.”

It was not only this incident that clearly highlighted Cottrell’s ties to the Reformation. He has been close to Farage for a long time.

Cottrell was in Clacton for the 2024 general election campaign, in which Farage won his first seat.

Farage’s allies were warning him in 2016 that Posh George would be a problem and he should separate himself; but he is incredibly loyal to those who are loyal to him.

Now an investigation Sunday Times Posh claimed George paid for security and joined Reform’s campaign, as well as providing Farage with accommodation in his expensive townhouse near Buckingham Palace. Farage claimed he was the victim of a “corporate job” and insisted he had “done nothing wrong”.

The location is interesting, given that Cottrell’s mother, the Honorable Fiona Watson, daughter of Rupert Watson, 3rd Baron Manton, was King Charles’ former girlfriend. He reportedly nicknamed her “Yum Yum”.

However, if you want to emphasize how close Cottrell is to Farage, just read it. Brexit’s Bad Boys A book about the 2016 EU referendum and its aftermath, written by Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore, two close allies and friends of the reform leader.

The entry dated July 25, 2016, three days after U.S. authorities arrested Cottrell, is revealing.

“A nasty shock today when Nigel got his hands on Posh George’s full criminal record! It’s not nice that he’s been charged with 21 counts including money laundering, wire fraud and blackmail.”

It is stated how crypto gambler Cottrell was caught in an FBI operation where he agreed to launder drug money and then tried to blackmail people who approached him.

The introduction concludes: “It’s a sad time for all concerned. He’s so young and I suspect he’s caught up in something that’s way over his head. Never a dull moment!”

Despite this, Farage appears to have remained loyal to his fellow young criminal as he moved from Ukip to the Brexit Party and now Reform UK.

Indeed, when you wander around Westminster some evenings and pass the Westminster Arms, where the Reform crowd like to hang out, drink beers and smoke cigarettes outside, it’s not uncommon to find Posh George at the center of the pack.

But now with Reform on the slide and other questions about Farage’s personal finances and donations from crypto billionaire Chris Harborne – Farage denies any wrongdoing and says the donations are entirely private – Cottrell’s presence in his inner circle could be as fatal as Mandelson was to Starmer and Pincher was to Johnson.