Until Saturday night, the relationship between Nigel Farage and George Cottrell was a delightful mystery that nobody was particularly demanding be solved. Now, the 32-year-old aristocrat is at the center of yet another controversy surrounding the Reform UK leader, after Farage reportedly failed to declare benefits provided by the man known as "Posh George."
The Sunday Times reports that Cottrell supplied support including security and social media staff who worked on Farage's online content in the year before he became an MP. Under parliamentary rules, new members must declare financial interests and "registrable benefits" received in the 12 months before their election. Reform says no rules have been broken; its Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick told the BBC that the support did not need to be registered since it was provided in a "purely personal capacity" prior to Farage's election.
Who is Cottrell? Born in Gloucester in October 1993, his mother is the Honourable Fiona Cottrell, an aristocrat whose father, the third Baron Manton, inherited a family soap empire. Cottrell reportedly left education without A-levels after being expelled from Malvern College due to a "gambling addiction." He volunteered for Farage in an Essex by-election in 2015 and was rewarded with a role as Ukip's head of fundraising at age 22. In 2016, they were together on Brexit referendum day. A month later, Cottrell was arrested in the US as he and Farage were preparing to return to the UK after the Republican convention, where Farage had spoken at a rally supporting Donald Trump. Cottrell had been caught agreeing to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers in an FBI sting operation. Farage said at the time that he was surprised and had "never had any suspicions" about Cottrell, adding that he couldn't be held responsible for "what everyone around me does." Cottrell faced 20 years in jail for 21 counts related to money laundering, fraud, blackmail and extortion but eventually brokered a plea deal, admitted guilt to a charge of wire fraud, and served just eight months. In the plea bargain, Cottrell said: "I falsely claimed that I would launder the criminal proceeds through my bank accounts for a fee," claiming he and an associate planned on keeping it themselves.
Upon release, Cottrell moved back to the UK and dated Georgia Toffolo, winner of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. He then moved to Montenegro where the Sunday Times reports he became a "key player" in Tether.bet, an online bookmaker and casino offering stakes on sports and politics in cash or cryptocurrency, including Tether, a digital currency part owned by Christopher Harborne, a billionaire who gave Farage a £5m gift in early 2024. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is investigating whether Farage broke rules over that gift; Farage has said Harborne gave him the money for personal security and that it was "purely private." The Sunday Times reports that in 2023, Cottrell put Farage in contact with Jack Anderton, a 25-year-old right-wing activist from Liverpool, to help run his social media, particularly on TikTok, where Farage's engagement surged. It reports Cottrell paid Anderton a salary equivalent to around £55,000 a year. Later that year, Cottrell helped negotiate a £1.5 million fee for Farage to appear on I'm a Celebrity..., and started providing Farage with security, primarily composed of elite former soldiers, and drivers.
After Farage announced he would stand as a Reform UK candidate in the 2024 general election and became party leader, he started travelling the country, often with Cottrell by his side. One occasion was Farage's campaign launch in Clacton, Essex, where a milkshake was thrown over him. Around this time, the Sunday Times reports that Cottrell began renting a residential property near Buckingham Palace for tens of thousands of pounds per month, where Farage has been allowed to stay. On 4 July 2024, Farage was elected as the MP for Clacton. He then registered a £9,253 trip to Belgium in April 2024 donated by Cottrell, and later added a £15,276 donation from Cottrell for a US domestic flight in December 2024. No other support from Cottrell is listed in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. Cottrell is now reportedly lobbying the US president for a pardon and recently co-authored a book, How to Launder Money, which claims to be a guide for law enforcement.
A spokesman for Farage said: "It comes as no surprise that the Sunday Times has chosen to publish this baseless and contrived story, covering a period of time when Nigel Farage was not even an active politician let alone an elected one, given that the newspaper backed the Labour Party at the last general election. Contrary to the story's tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken." Farage says the £5m gift was a reward for Brexit campaigning.