Nigel Farage’s spokesman has denied fresh allegations the Reform UK leader may have broken parliamentary rules, after reports the MP failed to declare benefits provided by an ally who was once convicted of fraud in the US.
The Sunday Times says George Cottrell supplied support, external including security and social media staff who worked on Farage’s online content in the year before he was elected. It also claims Farage used a property rented by Cottrell near Buckingham Palace.
Farage is already facing a parliamentary probe over a £5m gift from a billionaire Reform UK donor which was not registered. He has argued that money was for personal security and was not political because it was received when he was not involved in politics.
His team have made a similar argument for why the “in kind” – non-cash – benefits allegedly from Cottrell were not registered.
Cottrell, 32, who admitted a count of wire fraud in the US in 2017, is a long-standing ally of Farage. He was involved with 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 a charge of wire fraud after admitting attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by posing as a money launderer.
Farage was with him when US authorities pounced as the pair were returning to the UK from a Republican convention.
According to the Sunday Times, Cottrell is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and is involved with offshore gambling website Tether.bet.
Farage served as Reform’s honorary president between March 2021 and June 2024. On 3 June 2024, he confirmed he was returning as party leader and standing in the general election. He became Clacton MP in July 2024.
Under parliamentary rules, new MPs must declare financial interests and “registrable benefits” received in the 12 months before their election.
The guidelines say purely personal gifts or benefits do not need to be registered.
When he became an MP, Farage registered a £9,253 trip to Belgium in April 2024 donated by Cottrell, and later added a £15,276 donation from Cottrell for a US domestic flight he provided in December 2024.
No other support from Cottrell is listed in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests., external
A spokesman for Farage said: “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.”
A source said Reform paid for Farage’s security and staff after his return to politics.
The source also denied Farage received accommodation from Cottrell – saying the MP did not stay at the London property.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is currently investigating whether Farage broke the rules over the £5m gift from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne in early 2024.
Farage has said Harborne gave him the money to pay for his personal security, adding the gift was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage and Reform are engulfed in a huge and growing scandal.
“These new allegations of secret payments from a wealthy convicted criminal are on top of the ongoing scandal of his secret £5m 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?”
Source:
www.bbc.co.uk
