Why is Farage facing renewed scrutiny over his finances?

When he became an MP, Farage registered a £9,253 trip to Belgium donated by Cottrell in April 2024, before the election. He went on to register a £15,276 donation from Cottrell for a US domestic flight in December 2024.

However, he has not declared any further support from Cottrell, or the £5m he received from Harborne, arguing he was not required to do so under the rules.

In interviews towards the end of June, the Reform UK leader said he had chosen to earmark the £5m sum from Harborne for his future security costs, arguing he would require protection "for the rest of my life".

However, he stressed the gift was "unconditional" and how he spends it was "entirely up to me". Speaking to ITV, he said he was yet to spend the money.

In an interview after the Sunday Times story was published, Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said Cottrell had contributed towards Farage's staffing and security costs before he was an MP.

"You're allowed to accept a gift, support, whatever you want to call it, from a personal friend before you're a Member of Parliament if it's in a purely personal capacity," he added.

Farage is yet to face media questions about support provided by Cottrell detailed in the Sunday Times report. In a statement, he said he had "followed the rules" and was the victim of an "establishment hit job".

Lawyers for Cottrell say he disputes "allegations and assertions" in the Sunday Times report, and he was reviewing the matter with legal representatives.

In May, Parliament's standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, opened an investigation into whether Farage broke Commons rules by not declaring the £5m from Harborne. That probe remains ongoing.

But opposition parties have called on Greenberg to also investigate whether any of the support reportedly given by Cottrell should have been registered too.

The Liberal Democrats have asked him to specify whether this could happen as part of the existing investigation, or as part of a separate inquiry.

If Greenberg finds that Farage broke Commons rules by failing to register any financial support, he has two options.

If the failure to declare is found to be minor, he could ask him to update his entry without a punishment.

This happened earlier this year, when he found Farage had failed to declare £384,000 in financial interests he had received since becoming an MP within the required 28-day limit.

Alternatively, he could recommend a sanction, which would have to be considered by the Commons standards committee and approved by the entire House of Commons to come into effect.

The most serious sanction available to Greenberg is a suspension from the Commons. Any suspension longer than 10 days would lead to a vote in Farage's Clacton seat that would see voters decide whether to trigger a by-election.