The chair of Labour has given Nigel Farage 24 hours to report a claim of Russian hacking of his phone to the police, or the party will do it for him.
Over the weekend, Reform UK claimed that their leader’s “phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics.”
The party said this was after analysis of Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts.”
Farage then told the Mail on Sunday that the alleged Russian activity was “deeply concerning” and highlighted the “threat they pose to British security”.
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The claims come after Farage faces questions over the undeclared £5m gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The gift was reported by the Guardian last month, with Farage and Reform seeming to imply that the publication had obtained the information thanks to the alleged Russian-linked hacking.
Farage is now under growing pressure to provide evidence for the claim. So, Labour have decided to give him an ultimatum – report these allegations to the police, or we’ll do it for you.
The £5m gift at the heart of it all
In a letter to the Reform UK leader on Wednesday, party chair Anna Turley said it was “in the public and national interest” to ensure that a suspected overseas hack of a senior politician’s phone by a hostile state was properly investigated.
Turley said in the letter that if Farage did not report the matter to police within 24 hours, Labour will do it for him.
She also asked Farage to set out why Harborne gave him the £5m sum in the run-up to the 2024 general election.
According to an account given via “Reform sources” to the Mail on Sunday, Farage was suspicious about how the multi-million pound donation made it into the public domain. So, he handed over his phone for “forensic analysis by counter-espionage experts”.
Reform and Farage claim this analysis found that a malware attack on the phone, most likely originating from Russia, had compromised his phone, email and bank accounts.
The Guardian has denied any suggestion it obtained information about the £5m from a Russian hack, with a spokesperson for the paper saying it was “absurd” to suggest so.
Labour’s ultimatum to Farage
In her letter, Turley made the point that this would “constitute a serious cybercrime and a potential hostile-state operation directed at the leader of a British political party”.
She went on: “Quite apart from the implications for you personally, the alleged crime is an incredibly serious one with potential wider implications for Britain’s national security, the integrity of our politics and public confidence in our democratic system.
“It is therefore essential that any evidence of hostile-state hacking or foreign interference is placed in the hands of the proper authorities, so that it can be fully and independently investigated.
“With that in mind, please can you urgently confirm whether you have reported the alleged hacking of your phone, email and bank accounts to the police and/or to the relevant security services, including the National Cyber Security Centre?”
The letter added: “If we do not receive confirmation within 24 hours that this matter has been reported to the police, the Labour party will, in the public and national interest, report the matter ourselves to the police and the relevant national security authorities, on the basis of your public statements and the published reports.”
Earlier this week, Ciaran Martin, the former head of the National Cyber Security Centre, called Farage’s version of events “an entirely unsubstantiated claim and one without any merit.”
He said Farage should formally report his claims to the authorities, given how serious the allegations are.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “It has been reported to the relevant authorities. It would be inappropriate to comment further while investigations are ongoing.”