Labour party chair gives Farage 24 hours to report Russia phone hacking claim to police

Anna Turley has told the Reform leader to report his claim that Russia-linked actors hacked his phone to the police within 24 hours, or Labour will do it for him. 

As reported by the Guardian, Turley has given Nigel Farage an ultimatum over claims that information about a £5 million gift was obtained illegally.

Last Saturday, the Daily Mail reported that Farage had claimed Russian spies hacked his phone to get hold of the information about the donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

In a letter to Farage, Turley said it was in the “public and national interest” to ensure a suspected overseas hack of a senior politician’s phone is properly investigated.

Turley wrote that if it had happened “this would constitute a serious cybercrime and a potential hostile-state operation directed at the leader of a British political party”.

She continued: “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.”

A Reform spokesperson said that the incident had been reported to “the relevant authorities”, but wouldn’t say who these were.

A Reform source told the Mail that Farage had become “intensely suspicious” that his £5 million gift from Harborne had been unearthed by ‘foreign state actors’. 

This led to Farage submitting his mobile phone for “forensic analysis by counter-espionage experts”.

The source claimed that the analysis concluded that “hostile state actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow” had used “spear phishing” tactics to gain access to his phone, email and bank accounts.

“It bore all the sophisticated hallmarks of a nation state actor using destabilisation techniques in the run-up to this month’s local elections,” the source claimed.

Earlier this week, Ciaran Martin, former head of the National Cyber Security Centre, said Farage’s claim was “entirely unsubstantiated” and “without any merit” and said that he had yet to provide “a shred of evidence” about his allegation.

Martin said that if the allegation were true, it would have major implications for the UK’s policy towards Russia.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward