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Born in Gloucester in October 1993, Cottrell is the son of the Honourable Fiona Cottrell, an aristocrat whose father was the third Baron Manton. According to the Sunday Times, the family’s wealth came from a soap business inherited by the baron. Cottrell’s early education ended without A-levels after he was expelled from Malvern College in Worcestershire, reportedly due to struggles with a gambling addiction.
The timeline of when Cottrell became close to Nigel Farage is unclear, but by 2015 he was volunteering for Farage during an Essex by-election. This involvement quickly led to Cottrell being appointed Ukip’s head of fundraising at just 22 years old. The pair were together on the day of the 2016 Brexit referendum vote. The following month, while preparing to return to the UK from the Republican convention in the US—where Farage had spoken in support of Donald Trump—Cottrell was arrested. This followed an FBI sting operation in which Cottrell had agreed to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers.
At the time, Farage expressed surprise and said he had “never had any suspicions” about Cottrell, adding that he could not be held responsible for “what everyone around me does.” Cottrell was initially facing up to 20 years in prison on 21 counts, including money laundering, fraud, blackmail, and extortion. However, he eventually reached a plea deal, pleading guilty to wire fraud and serving just eight months. As part of the plea, Cottrell admitted, “I falsely claimed that I would launder the criminal proceeds through my bank accounts for a fee,” but stated that he and an associate had planned instead to keep the money for themselves.
More recently, in 2023, reports indicate that Cottrell played a significant role in managing Farage’s political operations. He introduced Farage to Jack Anderton, a 25-year-old right-wing activist from Liverpool who helped manage Farage’s social media presence, particularly on TikTok where engagement increased notably. Cottrell reportedly paid Anderton an annual salary of about £55,000. Later that year, he helped negotiate a £1.5 million fee for Farage’s appearance on the TV show *I’m a Celebrity…* and began organizing security details featuring former elite soldiers and drivers. When Farage became the leader of Reform UK and announced his candidacy for the 2024 general election, Cottrell frequently accompanied him on campaign trips, including one marked by an incident in Clacton, Essex, where Farage was targeted with a milkshake.
During this period, Cottrell reportedly rented a residential property near Buckingham Palace, paying tens of thousands of pounds per month, and allowed Farage to stay there. After Farage was elected MP for Clacton on 4 July 2024, he declared financial support from Cottrell, including a £9,253 donation for a trip to Belgium in April 2024 and a £15,276 donation for a US domestic flight in December 2024. No other financial contributions from Cottrell are listed in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Currently, Cottrell is said to be lobbying the US president for a pardon. He has also co-written a book titled *How to Launder Money*, which presents itself as a resource for law enforcement, prosecutors, and policymakers.
In response to these reports, a spokesperson for Farage dismissed the Sunday Times article as “baseless and contrived,” noting that the story covers a period when Farage was neither an active politician nor an elected official. The spokesperson also emphasized, “Contrary to the story’s tone, no parliamentary rules have been broken.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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