Labour calls for elections watchdog to investigate Farage’s finances
"It is now abundantly clear that Mr Farage may have not only broken Parliamentary rules, he may have broken the law."
Labour has urged the Electoral Commission to investigate funds given to Nigel Farage by convicted fraudster George Cottrell.
Over the weekend, the Sunday Times revealed that Farage did not declare funding he received from Cottrell to pay for social media staff and security before the 2024 general election.
According to the Press Association, Labour Party chair Anna Turley has written to the elections watchdog to ask them to look into whether the funding should have been declared due to Farage’s prominent role in Reform even before he returned to frontline politics.
Labour has also asked whether Montenegro-based Cottrell was a permissible donor, and they said it was not clear whether he was on the UK electoral register at the time.
Turley said: “It is now abundantly clear that Mr Farage may have not only broken Parliamentary rules, he may have broken the law.”
She added: “Farage can’t brazenly brush this off as being ‘none of your business’ any longer. He needs to own his self-inflicted scandal and prove he’s not been secretly breaking the rules and taking the British public for fools.”
The Liberal Democrats have separately called on the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to investigate Cottrell’s funding.
George’s mother, Fiona Cottrell, has also donated £750,000 to Reform UK since 2024. These donations were declared to the Electoral Commission.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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