Liberal Democrat MP urges probe into Reform deputy's undisclosed £78,100 loan

Liberal Democrat frontbencher Lisa Smart has asked the parliamentary standards commissioner to investigate Reform deputy leader Richard Tice over an undeclared £78,100 loan from George Cottrell.

Lisa Smart, a Liberal Democrat frontbench MP, has formally written to standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg requesting an investigation into Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, for not declaring a £78,100 loan from George Cottrell. The loan was paid in December 2024 into the account of Tisun Investments Ltd, a firm where Tice serves as director and which handles his investment activities. Cottrell, who previously served as an adviser to Nigel Farage and holds Montenegrin tax residency, was convicted of wire fraud in the United States, prompting banks to flag the transaction to the National Crime Agency under anti-money-laundering rules.

Smart contends that the loan’s preferential rate and the political link between Tice and Cottrell make it implausible that the arrangement was purely private. The complaint arrives while a separate standards investigation into Farage is on hold after he left Parliament. If the commissioner finds a breach, Tice could face sanctions for violating the MPs’ code of conduct.