Farage faces scrutiny over undeclared support from George Cottrell
A newspaper report says Nigel Farage received benefits from George Cottrell before entering Parliament, prompting a call for a standards inquiry.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Nigel Farage is facing renewed questions over his financial declarations after the Sunday Times reported that he received support from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster, before winning a seat in Parliament. The case could test whether the Reform UK leader should have disclosed help linked to his political work under MPs’ conduct rules.
According to the Sunday Times, Cottrell paid for or provided benefits including security, drivers, staff and accommodation for Farage in the year before the 2024 general election. The newspaper reported that Farage did not declare those benefits, apart from one payment connected to travel.
A spokesman for Farage rejected the report, calling it “baseless and contrived”, according to Reuters. The spokesman said: “Contrary to the story’s tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken.”
What the report alleges
The Sunday Times said Cottrell recruited and paid three people to work on Farage’s social media operation before the election. It also reported that Farage continued to have access to a five-storey Georgian townhouse near Buckingham Palace that Cottrell had rented.
Cottrell, 32, was jailed in the United States in 2017 over a money-laundering conspiracy, according to the report. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud after offering to launder money for US federal agents who were posing as drug dealers, and served eight months in prison.
The newspaper said Cottrell, through lawyers, confirmed that he had employed staff in Farage’s private office and paid them by bank transfer. It also reported that the final payment for private security came between January and March 2024.
At the time the support began, Farage was Reform UK’s honorary president and remained active in national politics, according to the Sunday Times. He later became the party’s leader and was elected to Parliament in 2024.
Disclosure rules and calls for inquiry
The MPs’ code of conduct requires newly elected members to register benefits worth more than 300 pounds, or about $400, received in the 12 months before their election if the benefit is connected “in any way” to their political activities. The code says members should register support if there is uncertainty about the donor’s motive.
On entering Parliament, Farage declared one benefit from Cottrell: about 9,200 pounds, or $12,300, for travel to a conservative conference in Belgium, according to the report.
Josh Babarinde, a Liberal Democrat MP, wrote on Sunday to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards seeking an inquiry into the allegations. In a letter he published on X, Babarinde said the value and nature of the reported support raised “a serious question” about whether Farage complied with the MPs’ code.
Babarinde also wrote that “this is not an isolated concern.” Farage is already under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over his acceptance of 5 million pounds, or $6.7m, from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne, according to the report.
Farage has said he accepted the Harborne money to pay for his security, according to the report. The standards commissioner has not been reported as making findings in either matter.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.