Published on
Britain’s hard-right Reform UK party was facing new questions about financial gifts on Friday after a report said police were investigating donations by the mother of a convicted fraudster.
It comes as authorities confirmed that a snap UK vote in which Reform leader Nigel Farage will go up against novelty candidate Count Binface will take place on 13 August.
Reform, an anti-immigration group that has led the ruling Labour party in opinion polls for well over a year, is facing intense scrutiny over several alleged undeclared donations.
The Times daily reported late on Thursday that London’s Metropolitan police is investigating some £500,000 (€587,222) in donations to Reform from Fiona Cottrell, a wealthy aristocrat.
According to the newspaper, she made the payments before the last general election in July 2024, when Farage became a member of parliament for the first time.
A spokesperson for the force said officers opened an inquiry in February 2025 following a referral by the Electoral Commission, which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK.
The spokesperson said two people had so far been interviewed under caution and “early investigative advice” had been sought from prosecutors, but no arrests have been made.
Fiona Cottrell is the mother of George Cottrell, a 32-year-old crypto entrepreneur who was convicted of fraud in the United States in 2017.
Farage was already facing scrutiny over the separate non-disclosure of alleged gifts from George Cottrell, revealed by the Sunday Times.
Farage, who denies wrongdoing in all of the cases, was also subject to a parliamentary probe over a £5 million (€5.8 million) donation from Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The investigation was suspended after Farage announced on Tuesday that he was resigning as the MP for Clacton in southeast England to trigger a by-election.
The probe will likely start up again if he wins back the seat, as is widely expected.
Farage, a 62-year-old privately educated former commodity broker, said he wants the contest to be a “people versus the establishment” fight.
But the other main parties view it as a stunt and are refusing to field candidates.
That has left self-described “intergalactic space warrior” Count Binface, with his trash-can shaped head and long cape, as the highest-profile person to have confirmed they will stand against Farage.
Tendring District Council, under which Farage’s Clacton constituency falls, announced on Friday the poll will take place on 13 August.
It said potential candidates must submit their nominations between 14-17 July.
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice on Friday called the reports regarding Fiona Cottrell a “politically motivated smear” against his party.
Additional sources • AFP