It has been three months since the Guardian revealed that Nigel Farage accepted a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a billionaire donor to Reform UK. This wasn’t the first story in our ongoing investigation, but it has proven to be the most significant, and the fallout from that disclosure is still unfolding.
Gradually, a clearer picture is emerging—one that shows how Reform UK has been funded and by whom. Every new detail raises more questions for Farage and the inner circle around him.
Beyond the “gift,” the Guardian has uncovered details of secret donations, a behind-the-scenes loan from a donor, and how the Metropolitan police have interviewed two people under caution. Sources have described how staff at several different banks were so worried about a range of transactions—some of which are mentioned above and involved senior party figures—that they reported them to the National Crime Agency.
Sources have now told us that George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster based in Montenegro, transferred over $2m in total to his mother, Fiona, in 2024, with each payment arriving shortly before she made substantial donations to the party.
These stories have given voters a much clearer sense of the people and financial dealings that underpin Reform. It’s a set of relationships that is both financially and politically incestuous.
Farage is friends with George Cottrell, who is said to be an unpaid adviser to Reform. Cottrell is friends with Harborne, the billionaire who has given millions to the party and to Farage himself. Farage’s deputy, Richard Tice, says he has known the Cottrell family for 50 years. Fiona is also a significant donor to the party, and George has lent money to Tice as well.
These five people sit at the heart of a party that believes it can form the next government. Without them and their money, Reform wouldn’t exist in its current form.
The scrutiny has pushed Farage into offering a range of explanations for why he accepted the £5m gift, along with broad claims that there’s an establishment plot to undermine him. Rather than answering the questions posed by the Guardian, he and other senior Reform figures have sent threatening legal letters or tried to “spoil” our stories with pre-emptive interviews with the Daily Telegraph, which reported their comments without question.
Farage has also made unsubstantiated claims about the Guardian’s reporting—citing, without any evidence, illegal hacks involving Russia or talking about state-orchestrated leaks. Throwing sand in the air is one way to distract attention, but when it settles, certain facts remain unchanged, and certain questions remain unanswered.
Several of those questions relate to George Cottrell, known as “Posh George,” who has been at Farage’s side for at least a decade. Many concern his wealth and business activities. In January, the Guardian reported on his alleged role as a frontman for the betting syndicate of the megastar gambler and football club owner Tony Bloom. Court documents claimed that Cottrell, in addition to making millions by letting Bloom’s syndicate place bets through accounts in his name, also had a financial stake in the offshore gambling outfit Tether.bet.
The claims went further: that he had approached gamblers in the UK to use Tether.bet, even though that company didn’t hold a UK gambling licence. Lawyers for Cottrell repeatedly said he wasn’t a director or shareholder of Tether.bet and hadn’t commented on the court proceedings, as he wasn’t a party to them. The case involves a former employee of Bloom’s gambling syndicate who claims he introduced Cottrell to Bloom. Cottrell, who couldn’t afford legal representation when he was first arrested in theIn 2016, he was in the US and had to depend on family support. But since getting out of a US prison in 2017, his situation has turned around quickly.
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Christopher Harborne gave Farage a gift of £5m in April 2024, and part of that money wasn’t transferred until just before Farage announced he would run in the July general election. Photograph: George Cracknell Wright/LNP
In recent years, he has lived an expensive, jet-set lifestyle, often basing himself in Montenegro.
Then there are the questions about Farage, who said he was “skint” in 2017.
Five pressing questions for Reform UK about its finances
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Not anymore. He now owns several houses, and has shown irritation when asked about this and about what he did with the £5m from Harborne.
“Literally none of your business,” he told the BBC.
The £5m came through a deed of gift in April 2024, at a time when Farage, who was the main shareholder of Reform UK, was deciding his political future.
In fact, the Guardian later reported our sources’ claims that some of the £5m wasn’t transferred to Farage until just before he announced he would run in the 2024 general election.
Lawyers for Harborne have said the gift was unconditional and that, when it was made, Harborne didn’t expect Farage to return to politics.
The Guardian has since uncovered more details about the complex mix of personal financial dealings and donations to the party.
Cottrell, whom the Guardian revealed is sometimes called Farage’s chief of staff (Reform has said he never held an official party role), was also quietly giving financial support to Tice.
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Richard Tice’s company, Tisun Investments, borrowed money from Cottrell, which was repaid after a large donation was made through the same company to Reform UK. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA
He lent Tice’s company £78,100 in late 2024, when he was already a sitting MP. Tice says the money was repaid, but only after he made a £613,000 donation through the same company – Tisun Investments – to Reform. Tice has called it a “bridging loan,” a type of short-term loan.
But the benefits and support Cottrell gave to Farage, and the £78,100 loan to Tice, were minor compared to the apparent generosity Cottrell may have shown the party.
As the Guardian revealed, his mother, a woman with aristocratic roots but believed to have modest means, had secretly given Britain Means Business – a fundraising vehicle for Reform solely controlled by Tice – £1m on 10 June 2024, just weeks before the July general election.
Half of that sum, £500,000, was almost immediately transferred into the party, despite bankers questioning Tice about where the funds came from. This was on top of two more donations of £250,000 made in her own name in May of the same year.
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On Wednesday, the GThe Guardian has reported that financial industry sources indicate over $2 million was transferred to Fiona by her son. Both have now been interviewed under caution as part of a police investigation into the 2024 donations from Fiona to the party and Britain Means Business. Fiona has not responded to repeated attempts by this newspaper to contact her. George has not denied giving his mother large sums of money. Instead, his lawyers stated that any political donations his mother made were entirely her own decision and a matter for her. Two parliamentary standards investigations are expected to conclude in the autumn—one into the £5 million gift Farage received from Harborne, and another into his benefits from Cottrell. There is also an ongoing Metropolitan police investigation. Reform is learning that with great success comes even greater scrutiny.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the financial situation at the core of Reform UK written in a natural tone with clear simple answers
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What exactly is the complicated financial situation at Reform UK
It refers to a web of connected companies loans and accounting issues surrounding the party Essentially the partys money flows through a parent company and several associated businesses making it hard to see exactly where donations come from and how cash is spent There have also been disputes over unpaid debts and the accuracy of financial filings
2 Why does Reform UK use a company structure instead of just being a standard political party
Reform UK is registered as a Limited Company rather than a traditional unincorporated association This is legal but it means the party has shareholders and directors Critics argue this structure gives the leader Nigel Farage more personal control over the partys finances and makes it harder for outsiders to scrutinize the money trail
3 Who is Nigel Farages role in all of this
Nigel Farage is the leader and the majority shareholder of Reform UK Party Ltd He controls the main party entity Additionally several of his close associates and former business partners run the separate companies that provide services to the party which is where the financial relationships get tangled
4 What is the main problem with the partys accounting
The main issue is a lack of transparency The party has faced fines from the Electoral Commission for filing inaccurate or incomplete accounts There have also been instances where loans to the party were not properly declared and the true source of funds was unclear
5 Is Reform UK doing anything illegal
Not necessarily While they have been fined by the regulator for breaking electoral law regarding reporting these fines are for administrative failures not fraud However the complexity of the structure makes it very difficult to rule out that rules are being bent which is why its a topic of intense scrutiny
IntermediateLevel Questions
6 What is the Reform UK Party Ltd vs the Reform Party
Reform UK Party Ltd is the official legal entity registered with the Electoral Commission The Reform Party is just the publicfacing name The company structure
