Metropolitan Police investigate Reform UK donations

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Richard Tice has said the money was paid to his company by Reform donor Fiona Cottrell (House of Commons/UK Parliament) House of Commons/UK Parliament

The payments were made in the weeks before the general election in July 2024, when Mr Farage and Mr Tice were first elected to Parliament (PA) independent.co.uk

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Police are investigating donations to Reform UK made via a company controlled by the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice, after a referral from the Electoral Commission, according to The Independent and the Evening Standard. The Metropolitan Police said the investigation began in February 2025 and concerns alleged offences under Section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Two people have been interviewed under caution and early investigative advice has been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service; no arrests have been made.

At issue is the route money took into the party during the run‑up to the 2024 general election. Both outlets report that a fundraising vehicle, Britain Means Business, made two donations of £250,000 to Reform UK. Tice said the money had been paid to his company by Reform donor Fiona Cottrell, and the reports describe a chain in which Cottrell gave £1 million to Britain Means Business in June 2024, with half then donated to Reform.

The structure matters because political finance rules do not only ask whether a party received money, but from whom, through what entity, and with what checks. Reform says it follows Electoral Commission guidelines and prides itself on stringent vetting. The police involvement is itself a marker of the limits of the regulator: the Metropolitan Police said the alleged offence is not one the Electoral Commission can investigate, leaving enforcement to criminal investigators after a referral.

The case also shows how fast-growing political movements can end up dependent on a small number of large transactions at precisely the moment they are trying to professionalise. The Times has reported, according to The Independent, that Reform’s bank account was frozen during the election after donations linked to Cottrell. Such operational disruptions are not abstract compliance issues; they affect campaigns in real time—staffing, advertising, and basic cashflow—while questions about provenance become political weapons.

Tice said he learned of the investigation from a BBC report and asked why police had briefed journalists before contacting “interested parties”, suggesting a politically motivated smear. Labour seized on the reports to accuse Reform of repeated “sleaze” controversies, while Reform pointed to its internal processes and the permissibility of donors.

The police statement, however, is narrower than the political noise around it: an investigation was opened after a referral, two people have been interviewed under caution, and prosecutors have been approached for early advice. The donations in question were made in June 2024, and the investigation began months later, in February 2025.