'Posh George': Who is aristocrat and convicted criminal at heart of Farage controversy?

'Posh George': Who is aristocrat and convicted criminal at heart of Farage controversy?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, George Cottrell (far left) with Nigel Farage on the night of the Brexit referendum in 2016ByGeorge WrightPublished20 minutes agoUntil Saturday night, little was known about the relationship between Nigel Farage and convicted criminal George Cottrell.Now, the 32-year-old aristocrat is at the centre of the latest controversy surrounding the Reform UK leader, after Farage reportedly failed to declare benefits provided by the man known as "Posh George".The Sunday Times reports that Cottrell supplied support, external including security and social media staff who worked on Farage's online content in the year before he became an MP.Under parliamentary rules, new members must declare financial interests and "registrable benefits" received in the 12 months before their election.Reform says no rules have been broken; its Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick told the BBC that the support did not need to be registered since it was provided in a "purely personal capacity" prior to Farage's election.Who is Cottrell, the long-time Farage ally and reported cryptocurrency entrepreneur once convicted of fraud in the US?Reform denies rules broken by Farage after benefits from ally not declaredPublished3 hours agoBorn in Gloucester in October 1993, Cottrell's mother, the Honourable Fiona Cottrell, is an aristocrat whose father, the third Baron Manton, inherited a family soap empire, the Sunday Times reports. Cottrell reportedly left education without A-levels after being expelled from Malvern College in Worcestershire due to a "gambling addiction".It is not clear when he became close with Farage, but Cottrell volunteered for him in an Essex by-election in 2015 and was rewarded with a role as Ukip's head of fundraising, aged 22.In 2016, they were together on the day of the Brexit referendum.A m...