Scotland Yard is investigating £500,000 in donations made to Reform UK by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of George "Posh George" Cottrell, a convicted criminal who is closely associated with Nigel Farage. The Metropolitan Police have interviewed two people under caution as part of a criminal inquiry that has been running for more than a year, focusing on a section of electoral law concerning the concealment or misrepresentation of the true source of political donations. The matter matters because it raises questions about the funding of a party that is positioning itself to contest the next general election.

The donations consist of two payments of £250,000 made ahead of the 2024 general election. Fiona Cottrell, 67, is a former model and daughter of the late Rupert Watson, 3rd Baron Manton, and is reported to have once dated King Charles when he was Prince of Wales; her son, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur based in Montenegro, has provided staffing, security and accommodation for Mr Farage. The relevant offence carries a penalty of a fine or up to a year in prison. Approached by reporters at her Worcestershire cottage, Ms Cottrell declined to answer questions, while a Reform UK spokesman dismissed the reporting as establishment "hit jobs and smears" aimed at derailing the party.