Met probes Reform UK donations by Richard Tice-controlled company

George Lithgow, PA Political and Home Affairs Correspondent

The Metropolitan Police are investigating donations to Reform UK by a company controlled by the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice.

Britain Means Business – a fundraising vehicle – gave Reform two donations of £250,000 in the run-up to the 2024 general election, according to The Times.

The money was paid to his company by Reform donor Fiona Cottrell, Mr Tice has previously outlined.

She is said to have given £1 million to Britain Means Business in June 2024,and half of that money was then given to Reform.

As first reported by the BBC, police are examining the transactions involving Mr Tice’s company.

Ms Cottrell is the mother of George Cottrell, a convicted criminal who provided funding for Nigel Farage’s security and staffing in the year before he was elected.

The Times reported that Reform’s bank account was frozen during the last election after the donations.

Mr Tice said: “The BBC article is the first I have heard of it – 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?

“Please remember the National Crime Agency is now having to investigate its own potential criminal offences against Reform leaders.”

A Reform UK spokesman said: “Reform 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.”

The Met said two people have so far been interviewed under caution.

A spokesperson continued: “An 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.

“Detectives from the Met’s Special Enquiry Team are investigating alleged offences under Section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

“Early 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.

“An offence under this section is not one that the Electoral Commission can investigate and, as such, it is a matter for the police.”

Asked previously about where Ms Cottrell had got the money from, Mr Tice said: “I’ve known the Cottrell family, my family have known the Cottrell family and the broader Hesketh family, for 50 years.

“A very successful aristocratic family, and as far as I’m concerned, she’s a permissible donor and that’s the end of it.”

Ms Cottrell is said to have no history as a political donor.

‘Sleaze’

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The allegations of sleaze and donation scandals just continue to pile up for Reform.

“Richard Tice can’t dismiss these troubling developments as a ‘smear campaign’. Police are now probing half a million pounds in donations to his party, and Reform’s bank account was frozen after suspected suspicious activity. This is extremely serious.

“From Nigel Farage’s secret £5 million ‘gift’ from a crypto billionaire, to alleged hidden donations from a convicted fraudster, to Tice’s company’s avoidance of £600,000 of corporation tax – and now more police investigations into Reform’s finances – it’s clear that Reform think rules are for other people.”

Reform has been dogged by questions about its funding in recent weeks.

Mr Farage has announced he will quit as MP for Clacton to stand in the ensuing by-election after questions mounted about a separate £5 million gift he received from crypto-billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.

The party leader has billed the by-election, likely to take place on August 13, as a “people versus the establishment” contest.

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