It's Posh George © as Farage's benefactor seeks to trademark his name

“Posh” George Cottrell, the convicted criminal whose largesse to Nigel Farage created a slew of awkward headlines for the Reform leader over the summer, is not one for keeping his head down.

The crypto-gambler, whose response to spending jail time in the US for financial misdemeanours was to write a book called How to Launder Money and host a launch event at London’s swanky OWO, was reported earlier this year to have given Farage security, drivers, staff and accommodation in an apparent breach of parliamentary rules.

While part of Farage’s defence was to claim that Cottrell held no formal position within Reform (despite him handing out business cards printed with the Reform UK logo and Farage’s official email address), the 33-year-old is said to be a regular presence at the party’s headquarters in Millbank Tower, Westminster, with onlookers claiming he was “seemingly unfussed about being spotted”.

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And now, if there was any doubt remaining that Farage’s mate has a particularly brass neck, it’s emerged he has set about trademarking his nickname so he can use it for a wide and varied swathe of merchandise.

Last month Cottrell lodged an application in the US – where he spent eight months in a federal prison in Arizona and would likely have served another 20 years had he not brokered a plea deal – to have the name ‘Posh George’ trademarked for his sole use.

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The list of services he wants the name trademarked is lengthy and often downright weird, ranging from the perhaps understandable “downloadable electronic books in the field of media, entertainment, culture, society, current affairs and lifestyle” to “scientific, nautical, surveying, electric, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments”. Ideal next Christmas for the loved one who’s a fan of both George Cottrell and defibrillators!

When the Sunday Times exposed Farage’s lengthy list of services provided to him gratis by a criminal, Farage immediately announced legal action against the paper for what the party deemed a “hit job”. Regular Farage watchers will no doubt be staggered to learn that, four months on, no legal letters are thought yet to be exchanged.

Perhaps Cottrell’s lawyers are too tied up getting him the sole rights to market official Posh George “paint brushes, typewriters and office requisites”?