The article examines the network of donors, advisers and business associates surrounding Reform UK, arguing that scrutiny has exposed increasingly close financial ties at the party’s centre. It focuses on Nigel Farage’s £5m gift from billionaire donor Christopher Harborne and raises questions about the transparency and origins of funding supporting a party seeking to form the next government. Farage and other senior figures are said to have responded with legal threats and allegations against the Guardian rather than directly addressing its questions.

The Guardian says George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster and reportedly unpaid Reform adviser, transferred more than $2m to his mother Fiona in 2024 shortly before she made substantial donations to Reform. Cottrell is described as a friend of both Farage and Harborne, while Richard Tice has said he has known the Cottrell family for 50 years and has received a loan from George Cottrell. The article also reports that bank staff raised concerns about transactions involving senior party figures with the National Crime Agency, and notes that police have interviewed two people under caution.