Nigel Farage and Posh George: why it matters
7/6/202627 min
Nigel Farage could face an investigation by the parliamentary watchdog after a Sunday Times investigation and podcast series raised questions about gifts and benefits in kind that he has received from George Cottrell, a crypto-gambler and convicted fraudster, who's better known as Posh George. Gabriel and Steve discuss how Reform UK has reacted to the story and what could happen next.
Both George Cottrell and Nigel Farage deny any wrongdoing.
Listen to the series here: podfollow.com/posh-george
Episode 3 is out on Thursday 9th July
Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times
Gabriel Pogrund, Insight editor, The Sunday Times
Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness
Image: Getty/Alamy
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSteven Swinford· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Welcome to this bonus edition of The State of It. I am here with one of our former hosts, Gabriel Pogrund, who has actually moved on to bigger and better things arguably. He is now editor of Insight and has this week, uh, produced a quite extraordinary story about Nigel Farage and some benefits in kind he has received from a convicted fraudster called George Cottrell. So Gabriel, just, do you want to just start by... I mean, this, this looks like a hell of a lot of work has gone into this with you and your team.
Gabriel Pogrund· Guest0:29
Well, um, yeah, let me begin by saying that, um, I genuinely really miss seeing you and Patrick and Lara in the studio, and I also miss the rhythm of my life where I used to get to do things every week. So part of the concept of Insight is that we dedicate lots of time and resource to a, an occasional big bomb, and, um, I guess one hopes it's worth it by the time you get there. But we did feel leaving the office on Saturday that we had nothing left to give, and, um, it seems like the story's done reasonably well. Uh, the podcast, Posh George, as well, is available to listen to. Um, but the thrust of the story relates, as you said, to this guy, George Cottrell, who is a very colorful character. He's an aristocrat. He grew up in, uh, the Caribbean island Mustique, went to boarding school in W- uh, Worcestershire, uh, and then was expelled for gambling related activity and responded to that setback by going into the bit of Mayfair where Arab, Russian, British