London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating donations to the far-right Reform UK party from the mother of a convicted fraudster, according to British media.
Reform UK, an anti-immigration party that has led the governing Labour Party in opinion polls for more than a year, is facing renewed scrutiny over several potentially undeclared donations. Reports that police are investigating around £500,000 (€587,222) donated by wealthy aristocrat Fiona Cottrell come as party leader Nigel Farage prepares to contest a by-election on August 13 against the satirical candidate Count Binface.
The Times reported late Thursday that the donations were made before the July 2024 general election, when Farage was first elected to Parliament. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said officers opened the investigation in February 2025 after a referral from the Electoral Commission, which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. The spokesperson added that two people have been interviewed under caution and that prosecutors have provided “early investigative advice”, although no arrests have been made.
Links to the Cottrell family
Fiona Cottrell is the mother of George Cottrell, a 32-year-old cryptocurrency entrepreneur convicted of fraud in the United States in 2017. Farage has previously faced scrutiny over a separate alleged failure to declare potential donations linked to George Cottrell, according to the Sunday Times. Although Farage denies any wrongdoing, he has also been the subject of a parliamentary investigation into a £5 million (€5.8 million) donation from Thai cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The parliamentary investigation was suspended after Farage announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down as MP for Clacton in southeast England to trigger a by-election. It is expected to resume if he wins the seat again, as widely anticipated.
Upcoming by-election
Farage, a 62-year-old former commodities trader who was privately educated, has said he wants the campaign to become a contest between “the people and the establishment”. However, other major parties have dismissed the move as a political stunt and have declined to field candidates.
That leaves the self-described “intergalactic space warrior” Count Binface, known for his bin-shaped helmet and long cape, as the most prominent candidate confirmed to run against Farage.
Source: Euronews
