‘Like a son to me’: George Cottrell, the high-rolling

Extravagant lifestyle and past controversies of Montenegro-based volunteer raise awkward questions for Reform leader

It’s an enigma at the heart of Nigel Farage’s general election campaign: why has a 30-year-old businessman, self-confessed high-stakes gambler and convicted fraudster flown in from a glamorous Balkan resort to act as his unpaid aide?

George Cottrell was at Farage’s side when the Reform UK leader was milkshaked on the campaign trail in Clacton, and on a private helicopter flight with him from Ashfield in Nottinghamshire. Cottrell was there at a London hotel, ear glued to his phone, as Farage hosted a press conference. He also pitched up in Merthyr Tydfil for the party’s manifesto launch in Wales.