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The Sunday Times
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The Sunday Times

British Sunday broadsheet; reported George Cottrell's funding of Farage's security before the 2024 election.

Last refreshed: 8 July 2026

Common Questions
What did the Sunday Times report about Nigel Farage's funding?
On 5 July 2026 The Sunday Times reported that aide George Cottrell had funded Farage's security and staffing before the 2024 election, prompting a Labour referral to the Electoral Commission over whether the funding should have been declared.Source:
Who owns the Sunday Times?
The Sunday Times is published by News UK, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, and is the Sunday sister title of The Times.
Is the Sunday Times the same newspaper as The Times?
No, they are separate titles under the same News UK ownership with distinct editorial teams, though they share some branding and archives.

Background

The Sunday Times is a British Sunday broadsheet newspaper, founded in 1821 and published by News UK, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. It is the Sunday sister title of The Times and one of the UK's most widely read quality newspapers, known for investigative and political journalism, its Insight team, and the annual Sunday Times Rich List.

On 5 July 2026, The Sunday Times reported that aide George Cottrell had funded Nigel Farage's security and staffing before the 2024 general election, a story that prompted Labour to ask the Electoral Commission whether the funding should have been declared and whether Montenegro-based Cottrell was a permissible UK donor. The report opened a third parallel funding question around Farage's political operation, alongside the Harborne gift inquiry and the Stack BTC review.

The Sunday Times' political desk has a long record of breaking party-funding and donor-scrutiny stories in UK elections, and its reporting is frequently the trigger for subsequent regulatory referrals rather than the outcome of one itself.