Nigel Farage admits friend George Cottrell paid for filming and let him use his home
Nigel Farage has admitted that his close friend, convicted fraudster George Cottrell, paid for social media filming and allowed him to use one of his London homes before the last election, but insists it was 'totally undeclarable'.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has revealed that his close friend, convicted fraudster George Cottrell, provided him with free use of a London home and covered the costs of social media filming prior to the last general election. Farage maintains that this support was "totally undeclarable in every single way."
Farage discussed both this in-kind support and a £5 million gift from Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne in detail for the first time during an interview on the anti-woke Triggernometry podcast. He acknowledged that the parliamentary standards system could rule against him but claimed he had consulted a "top international lawyer" who advised him that the £5 million did not require declaration because it was unconditional.
Regarding Cottrell, Farage stated that his friend had given him nothing since he was elected in July 2024 and that financial support before that was "irrelevant" and unrelated to politics. The Reform UK leader also alleged that his party was being unfairly targeted over a £500,000 donation to the party from Cottrell's mother, Fiona, which is under police investigation to determine if she is the true source of the funding. In what appeared to be a slip of the tongue, Farage initially referred to it as a donation from Cottrell himself before correcting himself to say it was from his mother.
The standards commissioner is currently investigating Farage's in-kind support from Cottrell and the £5 million from Harborne to determine whether they should have been publicly registered. While awaiting the commissioner's findings, Farage has called a byelection in his Clacton constituency to let voters decide if they want him as MP. The main parties are boycotting it.
Farage defended his loyalty to Cottrell, describing him as an "enormously colourful character." Regarding Cottrell's conviction and imprisonment for fraud in the US in 2017, Farage said, "George, as a young man, got into trouble in America. If you are involved in tax avoidance schemes, it is very easy in America to get into very, very big trouble."
Reform UK is also under scrutiny over £1 million sent by Fiona Cottrell before the election to Britain Means Business, a company controlled by Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice. Of that, £500,000 was later forwarded to Reform UK. The Sunday Times reported that George Cottrell opened an account with money transfer firm Oneify in May 2024, through which the donation was routed.
