I also agree- and it is about time....
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Richard Tice has been referred to parliament’s standards watchdog over an undeclared loan of nearly £80,000 from Nigel Farage’s aide George Cottrell.
(14 Posts)MayBee70
It was always going to happen when they finally became MP’s. If only the media would hound them as much as they hound other parties, though. They’re only doing it now imo because it’s getting too bad to ignore.
Yes I agree and about time!
Glenn Gibbons seems like a charmer.
It was always going to happen when they finally became MP’s. If only the media would hound them as much as they hound other parties, though. They’re only doing it now imo because it’s getting too bad to ignore.
Maremia
Good, that it starting to be noticed.
I agree
Good, that it starting to be noticed.
James McMurdock, independent in name only, who despite claiming to have been exonerated over taking Covid bounce bank loans on dormant companies, has not been re-admitted into Reform. I find that interesting.
He is also kicking off as The Sunday Times Insight team are having a close look at the loans:
removepaywalls.com/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/suspended-reform-mp-james-mcmurdock-covid-loan-nmvxvdrrd
He’s now published a very childish letter calling Daniel Greenberg the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards “the headmaster” showing that he [McMurdock] is entirely missing the point.
Why did he take bounce back loans amounting to £70,000 (£50,000 and £20,000) on two companies which were not trading? One would need a turnover of £200,000 to secure £50,000 and the other a turnover of £80,000 to secure £20,000.
His CV shows he was a “senior associate” at Standard Bank in the eight years before he became an MP so covering the time of the pandemic.
When he was first elected he claimed he was taking a substantial pay cut to become an MP. That was a lie. His former boss say he earned around £50,000 to £60,000.
bylinetimes.com/2024/07/17/reform-mp-james-mcmurdock-lied-to-voters-former-colleague-alleges/
What was the £70,000 for? He’s claiming the money has been repaid but that’s not the point. The point is did he commit fraud in the first place?
What a rabble the lot of them are.
George Cottrell is a convicted fraudster. His mother Fiona has given Reform over a million pounds.
The leaders of Reform are hand in glove with criminals.
It's no surprise really - more a case that since the 2024 election, NCA and bank alerts, police investigations etc - that the chickens are coming home to roost....
I said it on another thread- Farage's decision to resign and call a by election when he did- is very poor timing.
Mr Tice, of Dubai fame, being investigated for monetary infringements: colour me surprised (not)
Another investigation into a Reform politician?
Starmer was wrong to take those freebies, but this is possibly different level corruption.
Reform UK currently only has seven Members of Parliament in the House of Commons (and 4 of those 7 defected from the Conservative Party) and three former MPs. One former MP decided to resign of his own volition and one former MP left the party to set up Restore UK. No wonder Farage is not calling for a General election as you might expect. Reform UK simply is not in a position to govern, not least because of dodgy financial dealings and Ministerial code of conduct concerns but also lack of capacity. It's no wonder Reform UK has completely lost its 10 point lead in the polls recently.
Current Reform UK MPs
Lee Anderson: MP for Ashfield (Chief Whip and party chairman)
Richard Tice: MP for Boston and Skegness (Deputy Leader)
Sarah Pochin: MP for Runcorn and Helsby (won via by-election by 6 votes)
Danny Kruger: MP for East Wiltshire (defected from Conservatives)
Robert Jenrick: MP for Newark (defected from Conservatives)
Andrew Rosindell: MP for Romford (defected from Conservatives)
Suella Braverman: MP for Fareham and Waterlooville (defected from Conservatives)
Former Reform UK MPs
Nigel Farage: Former MP for Clacton, who resigned his seat to trigger a by-election.
Rupert Lowe: Former MP for Great Yarmouth, who left the party to form Restore Britain.
James McMurdock: Former MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, who relinquished the party whip.
Something to do with Cottrell’s mother as well.
My goodness they are a dodgy lot I think.
I remember that they got fined a lot of money (70000k) for fiddling the books in the leave campaign, and they were all implicated - Tice, Farage etc.
The development opens up the prospect of another inquiry into a Reform UK MP by the watchdog, which was investigating Farage after the Guardian’s revelation that he received an undeclared £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Tice, who is Reform’s deputy leader, received what he described as a personal loan in late 2024, months after he was elected as the MP for Boston and Skegness, in a transaction that originally caused bankers to raise concerns with authorities.
However, the parliamentary standards commissioner has now been formally asked by Lisa Smart, a Liberal Democrat front bench MP, to investigate Tice over his apparent failure to declare the loan in line with rules governing MPs’ conduct.
It is alleged that Tice may have breached the MPs’ code of conduct for failing to declare the loan on the basis that the money appears to have been given at a preferential rate, and that Cottrell’s tax residency in Montenegro made him an “impermissible donor”.
In a letter sent this week to Daniel Greenberg, the commissioner, Smart wrote: “Mr Cottrell is not merely a private acquaintance of Mr Tice, he is an official adviser to Reform UK and Nigel Farage (demonstrated by his use of Reform UK business cards). “It is highly implausible that the loan would have been negotiated without their party political connection, given this is the central basis of their relationship.”
More murky business connections available on line in media reports.
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