A CONVICTED fraudster, who is hitting the headlines for his financial support of Nigel Farage, was once expelled from a well-known school in Malvern for illegal gambling.
Over the weekend, The Sunday Times reported that George Cottrell provided funding for Farage’s staffing, security and housing.
It said that Cottrell had recruited and paid three members of staff to work on the Reform UK leader’s social media before the 2024 general election, as well as allowing him to stay in a Georgian townhouse he rented near Buckingham Palace.
The 32-year-old aristocrat has been working alongside Farage for more than 10 years, having been appointed the deputy treasurer of UKIP in 2015.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage ‘did not declare financial support from convicted criminal’
Early life and connection to Malvern
He was born in London to businessman Mark Cottrell, who attended Gordonstoun School with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Fiona Cottrell, an aristocrat and former girlfriend of King Charles.
Cottrell attended Malvern College as a teenager but was expelled at the age of 16 as a result of a gambling habit.
A spokesperson for the school said: “We can confirm that George Cottrell was permanently excluded from Malvern College because of illegal gambling activities.”
READ MORE: ‘Prince Andrew’ reference sliced off Malvern plaque
Career and criminal conviction
The early years of his career are unclear but from a young age, he was listed as a director in a number of businesses in the UK and overseas. It is believed that his wealth now derives from crytpo.
In 2016, while in the US with Farage for the Republican National Convention, Cottrell was arrested on suspicion of 21 counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, blackmail and extortion.
In a plea deal, he admitted to a single charge of wire fraud and served eight months in prison.
Why is he in the news now?
George Cottrell (left) alongside Farage after a milkshake was thrown over him (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)
The Sunday Times’ investigation alleges that Farage may have failed to properly declared financial contributions he received from Cottrell, potentially breaking MPs’ rules.
This is strongly denied by Reform UK.
Rules in place at the time said that new MPs should register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.
After he became MP for Clacton in 2024, Farage registered a £9,000 trip to Belgium donated by Cottrell and a £15,000 for a US domestic flight but no other support.
“It comes as no surprise that The Sunday Times has chosen to publish this baseless and contrived story, covering a period of time when Nigel Farage was not even an active politician, let alone an elected one, given that the newspaper backed the Labour Party at the last general election,” a Reform UK spokesperson said.
“Contrary to the story’s tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken.”