Farage Accused of Failing to Declare Benefits from Convicted Criminal
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, is facing allegations that he received financial benefits from a convicted criminal in the year before entering Parliament without declaring them, potentially breaching MPs' rules. The claims were reported by The Sunday Times, which detailed support from long-time aide George Cottrell.
Cottrell, a crypto-gambling entrepreneur, provided funding for Farage's operation, including staffing, security, and housing. According to the newspaper, Cottrell recruited and paid three staff to work on Farage's social media before the general election and allowed him to use a five-storey Georgian townhouse near Buckingham Palace.
Failure to Register Gifts
After becoming the MP for Clacton in 2024, Farage registered a £9,000 trip to Belgium donated by Cottrell and belatedly added £15,000 for a US domestic flight. However, no other support was declared. Under the rules in place at the time, new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 received in the previous 12 months, unless the gift could not reasonably be thought to relate to their political activities. The rules also required MPs to consider the purpose of the register of interests to provide information about financial interests that might reasonably influence their actions.
Reform UK denied that its leader breached the code of conduct, stating: "It comes as no surprise that The Sunday Times has chosen to publish this baseless and contrived story, covering a period of time when Nigel Farage was not even an active politician, let alone an elected one, given that the newspaper backed the Labour Party at the last general election. Contrary to the story's tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken."
Ongoing Investigation into Harborne Gift
Farage is already facing questions about an undisclosed £5 million gift from Thai-based billionaire Christopher Harborne. Parliament's standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is investigating whether Farage should have registered the gift. If found to have breached the rules, Farage could face sanctions including a Commons suspension that could trigger a recall petition and a by-election in his seat. The Clacton MP has given various explanations for the gift, including that it was to pay for his personal security.
Labour has called for a financial watchdog probe into whether Farage's advocacy for cryptocurrency has benefited Reform mega-donor Harborne, after reports he lobbied the Bank of England governor to scrap plans for a state-run digital currency.
Cottrell's Criminal History and Continued Role
Cottrell, involved in offshore bookmaker Tether.bet, could also stand to gain from Farage's championing of crypto, according to The Sunday Times. He reportedly remains a close adviser to Farage after first becoming involved in Ukip as a volunteer in the run-up to the Brexit referendum. In 2017, Cottrell was jailed for eight months in the US after pleading guilty to wire fraud for attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by masquerading as a money launderer. He was arrested as he and Farage travelled back to Britain following a trip to the US.
Labour's Response
A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Nigel Farage and Reform are engulfed in a huge and growing scandal. It's not going to go away, and trying to take the public for fools by saying it's 'none of your business' won't help. These new allegations of secret payments from a wealthy convicted criminal are on top of the ongoing scandal of his secret £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire. How much money has he been given, what did his donors get in return, and why has he tried to cover them up and avoid legitimate questions? Time and again Farage pretends to be on the side of working people. In reality he's just in it for himself and can be bought by the highest bidder. He's completely unfit for high office."
