Nigel Farage threatened a Sky News journalist on live television, accusing the broadcaster of harassing his family over reports that he accepted financial support from a convicted fraudster.
Farage confronts Sky News reporter
The Reform MP was returning from Independence Day celebrations in Washington when he approached a Sky News camera and said: 'You tell your bosses, you harass my family anymore. I'll take these serious consequences. That's what your organisation has done this morning. Go away.'
When the journalist asked whether it was a 'mistake to accept the gifts', Farage replied: 'Do you not hear me? You have broken all the rules, Levenson, and everything else.'
Claims about George Cottrell's support
The confrontation follows reports that Farage accepted staff, security and accommodation from George Cottrell, a 32-year-old convicted fraudster who admitted wire fraud in the US in 2017. Cottrell previously volunteered for UKIP during the Brexit referendum campaign.
According to The Sunday Times, Cottrell recruited and paid three staff members to work on Farage's social media before the 2024 general election. The publication also claimed that Farage used a property rented by Cottrell near Buckingham Palace.
Reform UK's response
Reform UK denies any breach of funding rules. On Sunday, the party's treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that the support did not need to be registered because it was provided in a 'purely personal capacity' before Farage was elected as 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,' Jenrick said. He added that social media content created while Farage appeared on the TV programme 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' was unrelated to his role as an MP.
Farage claims 'establishment hit job'
Farage later issued a statement claiming he is the victim of an 'establishment hit job'. He said: 'I have done no wrongdoing, followed the rules and I am now considering legal action against The Sunday Times. It's now clear the establishment will stop at nothing to hurt Reform – we want to smash their cosy consensus.'
The Sunday Times has since stated that it has not contacted anyone from Farage's family about the story. Calls continue for a parliamentary standards inquiry into the contributions Cottrell made to Farage.
