Reform<\/a> donor Fiona Cottrell – a significant donor to Reform UK and mother of a convicted fraudster with close links to Nigel Farage.<\/p>\nShe is said to have given \u00a31 million to Britain Means Business in June 2024, and half of that money was then given to Reform.<\/p>\n
As first reported by the BBC, the Metropolitan Police is now examining the transactions involving Mr Tice\u2019s company and said that two people have so far been interviewed under caution.<\/p>\n
![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01KXJRR6DQ4N70JKEXSHCZGQZY.jpg\")
Richard Tice has said the money was paid to his company by Reform donor Fiona Cottrell (House of Commons\/UK Parliament)<\/p>\n
Mr Tice said: \u201cThe BBC article is the first I have heard of it \u2013 if true why are the Met Police briefing the BBC before contacting interested parties? Is the Met leadership now engaged in the widespread politically motivated smear campaign against Reform and its leaders?<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease remember the National Crime Agency is now having to investigate its own potential criminal offences against Reform leaders,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
The Times reported that Reform\u2019s bank account was frozen during the last election after the donations from Ms Cottrell. <\/p>\n
All four payments were made in the weeks before the general election in July 2024, when Mr Farage and Mr Tice were first elected to Parliament. <\/p>\n
The first donation from Ms Cottrell of \u00a3250,000 appeared in the party’s accounts on 9 May, the second payment of \u00a3250,000 appeared on 29 May. Britain Means Business made a donation of \u00a3250,000 on 10 June and again on 12 June. <\/p>\n
A Reform UK spokesman said: \u201cReform takes pride in its stringent vetting of donations and always ensures that the Electoral Commission guidelines on donations, as set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, are strictly followed, as has been the case with donations so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Met Police spokesperson : \u201cAn investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan Police by the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK general election.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetectives from the Met\u2019s Special Enquiry Team are investigating alleged offences under Section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly investigative advice has been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service and two people have so far been interviewed under caution. No arrests have been made.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn offence under this section is not one that the Electoral Commission can investigate and, as such, it is a matter for the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01KY28QP8F5NK5H6JJ4S5WA2SV.jpg\")
The payments were made in the weeks before the general election in July 2024, when Mr Farage and Mr Tice were first elected to Parliament (PA)<\/p>\n
Asked previously about where Ms Cottrell had got the money from, Mr Tice said: \u201cI\u2019ve known the Cottrell family, my family have known the Cottrell family and the broader Hesketh family, for 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cA very successful aristocratic family, and as far as I\u2019m concerned, she\u2019s a permissible donor and that\u2019s the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Cottrell is said to have no history as a political donor.<\/p>\n
A Labour Party spokesperson said: \u201cThe allegations of sleaze and donation scandals just continue to pile up for Reform.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard Tice can\u2019t dismiss these troubling developments as a \u2018smear campaign\u2019. Police are now probing half a million pounds in donations to his party, and Reform\u2019s bank account was frozen after suspected suspicious activity. This is extremely serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Nigel Farage\u2019s secret \u00a35 million \u2018gift\u2019 from a crypto billionaire, to alleged hidden donations from a convicted fraudster, to Tice\u2019s company\u2019s avoidance of \u00a3600,000 of corporation tax \u2013 and now more police investigations into Reform\u2019s finances \u2013 it\u2019s clear that Reform think rules are for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reform has been dogged by questions about its funding in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Mr Farage announced he will quit as MP for Clacton to stand in the ensuing by-election after questions mounted about a separate \u00a35 million gift he received from crypto-billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.<\/p>\n
The party leader has billed the by-election, likely to take place on August 13, as a \u201cpeople versus the establishment\u201d contest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-711800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}