Britain’s governing Labour Party has formally asked the Electoral Commission to urgently investigate major donations received by Reform UK ahead of the 2024 general election.
Labour’s new chair, Bridget Phillipson, wrote to the commission following a Guardian investigation. According to the report, George Cottrell — a US-convicted fraudster and close associate of Reform leader Nigel Farage — transferred more than $2 million to his mother, Fiona Cottrell, in the days before she made substantial donations to the party.
Fiona Cottrell passed the funds either directly to Reform UK or via Britain Means Business, a fundraising vehicle linked to the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice. Sources indicate the sums involved run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A Labour spokesperson said:
“Reform UK is up to its neck in sleaze and dodgy money. If these latest claims about George Cottrell are true, the party may have taken money from a convicted fraudster who was the ultimate source of the donations. They think the rules don’t apply to them. It’s time they came clean about who is really bankrolling the party.”
The Electoral Commission had already referred the matter to the Metropolitan Police. Officers are investigating whether donations from an “impermissible” donor were concealed or disguised. Two people have been interviewed under caution; no arrests have been made so far.
Reform UK rejects the allegations, describing them as a “politically motivated smear campaign.” George Cottrell, who now lives in Montenegro, has previously been described by the party as a volunteer, although he has frequently been seen alongside Farage.
The funding scandal surrounding Reform UK has been ongoing for several months and also includes questions over an undeclared £5 million gift to Farage from a crypto billionaire.