According to a Sunday Times investigation, in 2023 Cottrell connected Farage with Jack Anderton, a 25‑year‑old right‑wing activist from Liverpool, to oversee his social‑media strategy, especially on TikTok, where Farage’s audience expanded rapidly.
Cottrell allegedly remunerated Anderton with an annual salary of approximately £55,000.
Later that year, Cottrell facilitated a £1.5 million payment for Farage to join the reality show *I’m a Celebrity…*, and began arranging security for him, staffed largely by former elite military personnel and drivers.
Following Farage’s declaration of candidacy for the Reform UK party in the 2024 general election and his ascent to party leader, he embarked on nationwide campaigns, frequently accompanied by Cottrell.
A notable instance was the launch of Farage’s campaign in Clacton, Essex, where a protester hurled a milkshake at him.
Around that period, the Sunday Times reported that Cottrell started leasing a residence close to Buckingham Palace, allegedly paying tens of thousands of pounds monthly, a property in which Farage reportedly stayed.
On 4 July 2024, Farage was elected as the Member of Parliament for Clacton.
He later logged a £9,253 expense for a trip to Belgium in April 2024, funded by Cottrell, and subsequently recorded a £15,276 contribution from Cottrell for a US domestic flight he arranged in December 2024.
No additional financial support from Cottrell appears in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Cottrell is currently said to be lobbying the U.S. president for a pardon and has recently co‑authored a book titled *How to Launder Money*, which purports to serve as a manual for law‑enforcement officials, prosecutors, and policymakers.
A spokesperson for Farage remarked: “It is unsurprising that the Sunday Times would publish what they describe as a baseless and fabricated narrative concerning a period when Nigel Farage was not yet an active politician, let alone an elected official, especially given the newspaper’s prior endorsement of the Labour Party in the most recent general election.”
“Conversely, the narrative does not contravene any parliamentary regulations,” the spokesperson added.
