Nigel Farage is facing fresh allegations that he failed to declare financial support from a convicted fraudster in the year before he became an MP, potentially breaching parliamentary rules. The Sunday Times reports that George Cottrell, a longtime ally who was jailed for wire fraud in the US in 2017, provided Farage with security, social media staff and a place to stay near Buckingham Palace. Cottrell, now a cryptocurrency entrepreneur involved in the offshore gambling site Tether.bet, recruited and paid three staff to work on Farage's online content before the general election, the paper claims. He also rented a five-storey Georgian townhouse close to the palace that Farage allegedly used as accommodation.
Under parliamentary rules, new MPs must register any gifts or “registrable benefits” worth more than £300 received in the 12 months before their election, unless they are purely personal. Farage, who became Clacton MP in July 2024, registered a £9,253 trip to Belgium donated by Cottrell in April 2024, and later added a £15,276 donation for a US domestic flight in December 2024. But no other support from Cottrell appears in the register of members' financial interests. Farage is already facing a separate probe by the standards commissioner over a £5m gift from billionaire Reform donor Christopher Harborne that was not disclosed. The MP has argued that money was for personal security during a period when he was not active in politics.
“Nigel Farage faces fresh allegations he failed to declare benefits from convicted fraudster George Cottrell before becoming an MP.”
A spokesman for Farage dismissed the new allegations as “baseless and contrived”, noting that the period covered was when Farage was “not even an active politician let alone an elected one”. The spokesman added: “Contrary to the story's tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken.” A Reform source said the party paid for Farage's security and staff after he returned to politics, and denied he received accommodation from Cottrell. Cottrell, 32, was jailed for eight months in 2017 after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud for attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web. Farage was with him when US authorities detained the pair as they returned from a Republican convention.
Labour has called for a financial watchdog probe into whether Farage's advocacy for cryptocurrency has benefited Harborne, after reports he lobbied the Bank of England governor to scrap plans for a state-run digital coin. 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.