George Cottrell, a close associate of Nigel Farage and a key figure in Reform UK’s inner circle, acted as a front for a major gambling syndicate that was “given control” of his betting accounts, a high court document alleges.

Cottrell acted as a stalking horse for a syndicate involving one of the world’s most successful gamblers, Tony Bloom, it is claimed in the public documents, filed at the high court.

Bloom, a billionaire, is the majority shareholder and chair of Brighton & Hove Albion football club and made his fortune from gambling.

He is known in the gambling industry by the moniker of “The Lizard” and used “whales”, or frontmen, to assist in gambling enterprises, it is claimed.

The details are set out in a 19-page document filed to the high court as part of an ongoing dispute

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