Nigel Farage Denies Misconduct Amid Allegations of Undeclared Support from US-Convicted Ally

Nigel Farage has firmly denied any wrongdoing following reports that he failed to declare benefits provided by a close associate who was previously convicted of fraud in the United States.

A report by The Sunday Times alleges that George Cottrell provided Farage with security personnel and social media staff to manage his online presence in the year leading up to his election. The report further claims that Farage utilized a property near Buckingham Palace rented by Cottrell.

The Reform UK leader maintained that he adhered to all applicable regulations, characterizing the allegations as an “establishment hit job.”

Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde has called for an official investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Babarinde urged Farage to be “straight with the British people,” stating, “He has dined out on a career about taking back control, yet he won’t tell us, he won’t be straight with us about who controls him.”

Parliamentary regulations require newly elected MPs to disclose financial interests and “registrable benefits” received during the 12 months prior to their election, although purely personal gifts are exempt from these requirements.

This latest controversy comes as Mr. Farage is already under parliamentary scrutiny regarding an unregistered £5 million gift from a billionaire Reform UK donor. Farage has defended this by arguing the gift was received before his election as the MP for Clacton and was not political in nature. His representatives have applied a similar logic to explain why the “in-kind” benefits allegedly provided by Cottrell were not registered.

Cottrell, 32, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur involved with the offshore gambling site Tether.bet, has been a long-term ally of Farage. He previously volunteered for Ukip during the lead-up to the Brexit referendum and admitted to a count of wire fraud in the US in 2017.

Responding to the claims, Farage stated: “I have done no wrongdoing, followed the rules and I am now considering legal action against the Sunday Times. It’s now clear the establishment will stop at nothing to hurt Reform – we want to smash their cosy consensus.”

Upon entering Parliament, Farage registered a trip to Belgium in April 2024 valued at £9,253 and a later donation of £15,276 for a US domestic flight provided by Cottrell in December 2024. No other support from Cottrell appears in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

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