Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party, traveled to Florida last year to meet with tech billionaire Elon Musk. The trip was partly funded by convicted fraudster George Cottrell, who paid for Farage's £15,000 flight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Palm Beach, Florida. Cottrell is a former adviser to Farage and spent eight months in jail after being convicted of one count of wire fraud in the US.

Farage's trip to Florida came amid speculation that Musk was considering donating to the Reform UK party. Farage described his hour-long meeting with Musk at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort as historic, saying he and Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy had "learned a great deal about the Trump ground game." Farage repeatedly insisted he knew nothing about a potential contribution to Reform from Musk, but said the party would take the money if it were offered.

The visit was at least the fourth time Farage had traveled to America since his election as MP for Clacton in July. The Independent has contacted Farage for comment.