Escalation: Met Police interview two under caution

The Met said two people were interviewed under caution as part of a criminal investigation into two £250,000 donations to Reform UK made in May 2024 by Fiona Cottrell. No arrests were made. Detectives from the force’s Special Enquiry Team are examining suspected breaches of the law that bans disguising a donor’s true identity or giving false details to a party treasurer, and have already sought early advice from prosecutors.

The names were not released. The individuals were George Cottrell, a longtime aide to Nigel Farage who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the US in 2017, and his mother, Fiona Cottrell. Investigators are looking at whether she was used to mask a donor who is not allowed to give, such as someone not on the UK voter roll or an overseas company.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources