The friendship between Nigel Farage and George Cottrell was on display on the night of the Brexit referendum in 2016 – a picture of the pair together, beaming. Now, that relationship is at the centre of a new controversy, after it emerged that Farage failed to declare support provided by the 32-year-old convicted fraudster in the year before he became an MP.
The Sunday Times reported that Cottrell – an aristocrat known as "Posh George" – supplied security and social media staff who worked on Farage’s online content. Cottrell also allegedly recruited and paid three people to revamp Farage’s social media before the 2024 general election, and Farage is said to have continued using a property rented by Cottrell near Buckingham Palace.
“Nigel Farage failed to declare benefits from convicted criminal George Cottrell before becoming an MP, the Sunday Times reports.”
Under parliamentary rules, new MPs must declare financial interests and "registrable benefits" received in the 12 months before their election. Farage did register a £9,253 trip to Belgium and a £15,276 US domestic flight, both donated by Cottrell, but not the other support.
Reform UK denies any rules were broken. Its Treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, told the BBC the support was provided in a "purely personal capacity" prior to Farage’s election. "No rules have been broken whatsoever," Jenrick said, adding that the story was "dredged up … to try and drag Nigel down".
Cottrell is no ordinary backer. Born in Gloucester in 1993, he is the son of the Honourable Fiona Cottrell, an aristocrat said to have briefly dated then-Prince Charles. His grandfather, the third Baron Manton, inherited a family soap empire. Cottrell left education without A-levels after being expelled from Malvern College due to a gambling addiction, and went on to become a "fixer-cum-financier to the ultra-rich in Mayfair", his wealth now said to derive from crypto.
He became close to Farage at 22, when he was made Ukip’s head of fundraising after volunteering in a 2015 Essex by-election. The two quickly became "very close", according to Gabriel Pogrund, who led the Sunday Times investigation. "George is seen as the Farage whisperer," Pogrund told the BBC’s Newscast. "He knows when Nigel needs a cigarette, he knows when Nigel wants a beer … He’s there to pull the chair from under the table when he’s about to sit down."
A month after that 2016 referendum night, Cottrell was arrested in the US as he and Farage were preparing to return to the UK after the Republican National Convention. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud – attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by posing as a money launderer – and was jailed for eight months.
Cottrell, who calls Farage "Daddy", has continued to provide support. His lawyer told the Sunday Times: "As a close friend, our client did, and does, allow Mr Farage to stay in our client’s rental property." However, a source denied to the BBC that Farage received accommodation from Cottrell.
Farage is already facing an investigation by the Commons sleaze watchdog over an undeclared £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne. The new allegations add to the pressure – and leave the question of what else might remain undeclared.