Nigel Farage’s closest ally, George Cottrell, and his mother, Fiona Cottrell, have been interviewed under criminal caution by Scotland Yard detectives as part of an investigation into £500,000 in donations made to Reform UK before the 2024 general election.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that two people have been interviewed under caution, no arrests have been made, and an investigation into donations to a political party is ongoing. The inquiry, which has been running for more than a year, focuses on two payments of £250,000 made by Fiona Cottrell in May 2024 — the first appearing on 9 May, the second on 29 May, just over a month before polling day.
“Met police investigate £500k donations to Reform UK from convicted fraudster's mother; both interviewed under caution.”
George Cottrell, who pleaded guilty to fraud in the United States and served eight months in jail before being released in 2017, has long been a close political and personal ally of Farage. According to the Sunday Times, he secretly bankrolled Farage before the election by paying for staff, security, and the use of a luxury townhouse near Buckingham Palace — benefits that were not declared once Farage became an MP.
Fiona Cottrell, a 67-year-old aristocrat who once dated King Charles and describes herself as a “retired stylist”, has no history as a political donor. Her husband Mark died in 2023, leaving an estate valued at £1.5m. The Metropolitan Police’s special inquiry team is investigating alleged offences under section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which prohibits foreign funding and makes it an offence to conceal or disguise donations from an “impermissible” donor or to provide false information about a donation.
Lawyers for George Cottrell said in a statement that any suggestions he “has donated impermissibly to Reform UK are unfounded”. They added that his mother’s donations “have been entirely her own decision, and are a matter for her”. The Met investigation is expected to take many more months, with police seeking disclosure from banks and other financial institutions.
The news comes as Farage resigns as MP for Clacton following questions over a separate £5m donation from billionaire Christopher Harborne. The Reform leader’s resignation has triggered a by-election, which Tendring District Council has set for a week later than the originally hoped date of 6 August. Parties across Westminster are boycotting the contest, describing it as a “sham”, leaving comedy candidate Count Binface as the highest-profile opponent for Reform UK.
