Robert Jenrick says “no rules have been broken whatsoever” by Nigel Farage, after reports the Reform UK leader failed to declare benefits provided by an ally once convicted of fraud in the US.
The Sunday Times says George Cottrell supplied support including security and social media staff who worked on Farage’s online content in the year before he was elected. It also claims Farage used a property rented by Cottrell near Buckingham Palace.
Jenrick, Reform’s Treasury spokesman, told the BBC that Farage did not need to register the support as it was in a “purely personal capacity” before he became an MP.
The Liberal Democrats have asked the parliamentary standards commissioner to investigate.
Farage is already facing a parliamentary probe over a £5m gift from a billionaire Reform UK donor which was not registered.
He has argued that money was for personal security and was not political because it was received when he was not involved in politics.
His team have made a similar argument for why the “in kind” – non-cash – benefits allegedly from Cottrell were not registered.
Cottrell, 32, who admitted a count of wire fraud in the US in 2017, is a long-standing ally of Farage. He was involved with UKIP as a volunteer in the run-up to the Brexit referendum.
According to the Sunday Times, Cottrell is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and is involved with offshore gambling website Tether.bet.
Getty ImagesSpeaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Jenrick described Cottrell as an “old friend” of Farage’s.
Jenrick said: “He did give support to Nigel before he was a Member of Parliament, he hasn’t done so since he became a Member of Parliament.
“No rules have been broken whatsoever.”
Jenrick said it was a “very old story that has been dredged up” in a bid to “drag Nigel downwards”, adding: “It’s not going to succeed.”
Asked if Farage stayed in a townhouse being rented by Cottrell, Jenrick replied: “I believe Nigel has said that he stayed a couple of times there, very infrequently, as you’re allowed to.
“Nigel Farage is allowed to have friends, as a politician you’re allowed to stay at a friend’s house, and certainly remember Nigel was not an elected politician. He was, if you like, an ex-politician at the time.”
Jenrick also said Farage had “absolutely” received help from Cottrell with staffing costs, including security, before he became an MP.
He said: “You’re allowed to accept a gift, support, whatever you want to call it, from a personal friend before you’re a Member of Parliament if it’s in a purely personal capacity.
“So there is absolutely nothing to see in this story.”
In 2017, Cottrell was jailed for eight months in the US after pleading guilty to a charge of wire fraud after admitting attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by posing as a money launderer.
Farage was with him when US authorities pounced as the pair were returning to the UK from a Republican convention.
Getty ImagesFarage served as Reform’s honorary president between March 2021 and June 2024. On 3 June 2024, he confirmed he was returning as party leader and standing in the general election. He became Clacton MP in July 2024.
Under parliamentary rules, new MPs must declare financial interests and “registrable benefits” received in the 12 months before their election.
The guidelines say purely personal gifts or benefits do not need to be registered.
When he became an MP, Farage 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 he provided in December 2024.
No other support from Cottrell is listed in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
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.”
A source said Reform paid for Farage’s security and staff after his return to politics.
The source also denied Farage received accommodation from Cottrell – saying the MP did not stay at the London property.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, is currently investigating whether Farage broke the rules over the £5m gift from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne in early 2024.
Farage has said Harborne gave him the money to pay for his personal security, adding the gift was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”.
Lib Dem MP Josh Babarinde has asked Greenberg to “get to the bottom” of the latest allegations linked to Farage’s support from Cottrell.
Babarinde has also asked Greenberg to confirm whether he will investigate the claims as part of the existing inquiry or as a separate matter.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage and Reform are engulfed in a huge and growing scandal.
“These new allegations of secret payments from a wealthy convicted criminal are on top of the ongoing scandal of his secret £5m gift from a crypto billionaire.
“How much money has he been given, what did his donors get in return, and why has he tried to cover them up and avoid legitimate questions?”
Responding to Jenrick’s interview, Labour said Reform “can’t shrug this scandal off and hope it goes away”.
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