Ministers to crack down on political donations as Farage faces calls for second inquiry

The brief

Ministers will launch a crackdown on large political donations on Monday, as Nigel Farage faces a possible second investigation into gifts he received from a convicted fraudster before becoming an MP. The government will announce a series of measures to make political funding more transparent, including restrictions on donations from foreign-based benefactors. But it is under pressure to go further after the revelation that the Reform UK leader received a number of benefits from the crypto entrepreneur George Cottrell before the general election. Those benefits could also become the subject of a new investigation by Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary standards commissioner, who is already looking into a £5m donation to…