The police are reportedly investigating at least £500,000-worth of donations made to Reform UK by the mother of a convicted fraudster who paid for Nigel Farage’s social media staff and security.
The Times newspaper, external has reported that Fiona Cottrell is at the centre of a more than year-long inquiry being conducted by the Metropolitan Police.
A spokesperson for the force confirmed that two people had been interviewed under caution, no arrests had been made and an investigation into donations made to a political party is ongoing.
Reform sources say no party officials have been interviewed by the police.
The investigation is said to relate to allegations of concealing or disguising donations derived from an “impermissible” donor to a party, or the use of “false” information about a donation including the amount or the identity of the donor.
As first reported by The Times, the investigation relates to two payments of £250,000 Fiona Cottrell made to Reform before the last general election in 2024.
The first donation appeared in the party’s accounts on May 9 2024. The second appeared a few weeks later on 29 May, just over a month before polling day. Records of the donations have been published by the Electoral Commission., external
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was elected to the Commons for the first time at that election.
The Times claims that Fiona Cottrell’s husband Mark, who died in 2023, left an estate valued at £1.5m and that she has described herself as a “retired stylist”.
News has attempted to contact Fiona Cottrell for comment.
The concept of “permissible” and “impermissible” donors was introduced by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which prohibits foreign funding for political parties.
The legislation means parties can only accept money from a permissible donor.
Permissible donors include individuals registered on an electoral register and companies registered in the UK.
The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Fiona Cottrell’s son, George Cottrell, had supported Farage by paying for staff and security before the 2024 election, but these benefits were not declared once Farage became an MP.
George Cottrell has long been a close political and personal ally of the Reform UK leader.
He pleaded guilty to fraud in the United States and spent eight months in jail there, before being released in 2017.
Upon his release, Cottrell moved back to the UK and dated Georgia Toffolo, reality TV star and winner of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
The Sunday Times has reported that he then moved to Montenegro where he became a “key player” in Tether.bet, an online bookmaker and casino offering users large stakes on sports and politics in cash or cryptocurrency.
Lawyers for Cottrell said he “categorically disputes allegations and assertions made by the Sunday Times” in relation to his financial help for Farage.
The Reform leader has denied any wrongdoing on his part and said he didn’t need to declare the benefits because they were not related to his political activity.
As reported by the Guardian, in June 2024 Fiona Cottrell also gave a £1m donation to Britian Means Business, a think tank owned by Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice.
Data from the Electoral Commission shows, external that Britain Means Business donated £500,000 to Reform UK in the same month.
It’s not known whether the Met Police investigation is also looking at her donation to Britain Means Business.
The revelation about the Met’s investigation comes amid increased scrutiny into Nigel Farage’s personal finances.
He is facing a parliamentary standards investigation into an undeclared £5m payment given to him before the 2024 general election by the crypto billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.
Farage has insisted the money was an unconditional personal gift which did not need to be declared to the parliamentary authorities.
The Reform leader resigned as the MP for Clacton this week to trigger what he called a “people versus the establishment” by-election, which he will stand in.
Tice told Times Radio he’d known the Cottrell family “for 50 years” and said the latest revelations were “a politically motivated smear campaign”.
Approached by the , a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: “An investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan Police by the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK General Election.”
She added: “Detectives from the Met’s Special Enquiry Team are investigating alleged offences under Section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
“Early investigative advice has been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service and two people have so far been interviewed under caution. No arrests have been made.
“An offence under this section is not one that the Electoral Commission can investigate and, as such, it is a matter for the police.”
The Electoral Commission told the : “The Metropolitan Police Service have issued a statement about an on-going police investigation. We have no further comment.”