Farage under mounting pressure to prove Russian hack claim | Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage is under increasing pressure to provide evidence of his claim that a state-backed Russian hack was behind the disclosure of a £5 million gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage’s phone by “counterespionage experts” suggested that “Farage’s phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics” before the Guardian revealed details of his undisclosed gift last month.

Farage told the Mail on Sunday that the alleged Russian activity was “deeply worrying” and underlined the “threat they pose to British security”.

Farage’s claims come after intense scrutiny of the £5 million gift he received from Harborne. Despite parliamentary transparency rules requiring MPs to record gifts and donations above a certain threshold, Farage had not publicly disclosed the gift.

A spokesman for the Guardian described Farage’s claim as “an attempt to divert attention from legitimate scrutiny of his financial affairs”. They added: “Rather than face scrutiny from journalists and politicians, Nigel Farage is once again hiding behind an unfounded attack on the media.”

The spokesman said it was absurd for Farage to claim he learned about the gift from a Russian hack.

After Farage made the claim on Sunday, Labor and the Conservatives called on him to hand over any evidence he has to Britain’s security services.

Farage’s spokesman did not respond to the Guardian’s questions about who he reported the alleged hack to, whether any evidence had been provided to British authorities or how examination of his mobile phone showed Russia was responsible.

The National Cyber ​​Security Center is understood to be unaware of a report by Farage into the alleged hack.

The Guardian has contacted Reform UK for comment.

Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative party and MP for Thirsk and Malton, told the Guardian: “This is what you get when you dine with ‘The Devil’. Nigel Farage has spent years making excuses for this.” [Vladimir] Putin is now, conveniently, suddenly playing the Russia card; Serious questions are being asked precisely about the failure to declare a £5 million donation from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire.

“We must not forget that this is the same party that has faced persistent questions about its attitude towards Russia, including its former leader in Wales who was jailed for taking bribes from the Kremlin.

“If he has real evidence that Russia is trying to hack him, he should immediately pass it on to the relevant authorities and be fully transparent with the British public about exactly what he knows. The British public has a right to answers, not distraction tactics.”

A Labor spokesman said: “Russia’s interference in our politics is incredibly serious and all political parties have a responsibility to confront it head on and ensure that possible cases of foreign interference are investigated.

“Given the seriousness of these allegations, Nigel Farage needs to reassure the public that he reported this to the security services. He also needs to finally clarify how his secret £5 million ‘gift’ from his crypto billionaire backer was spent and why he failed to declare it.”

A Reform source quoted in the Mail on Sunday spoke of the £5m donation, contrary to Farage’s repeated claims that it was a ‘gift’ which he did not need to report to parliamentary authorities.

The money was given to Farage before he announced he would enter the general election race in June 2024. This came via a company linked to Harborne, one of Britain’s richest crypto investors and a major financial backer of right-wing causes.

Farage initially claimed he was given £5 million for security purposes to keep him “safe and secure” for the rest of his life. He also claimed that the gift was “purely private” and “not political in any way.”

Harborne said he gave the money to Farage to support his “security, not just now but for the rest of his life”.

But weeks after the Guardian’s initial investigation, Farage said in an interview with the Sun that it was “given to me unconditionally, completely unconditionally. But frankly it was given to me as a reward for 27 years of campaigning for Brexit.”

The Reform England leader said the money had not influenced his decision to return to public life.

Following guidance from the Conservatives, parliament’s standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, launched an investigation under rule five of the MPs’ code of conduct; The rule states that new MPs must register, within one month of entering parliament, any relevant financial benefits they received in the 12 months before their election.

Ministers have expressed concerns about whether some of Harborne’s wealth comes from Russia-linked business interests.

Defense secretary John Healey last week challenged Farage to clarify that any of the £5 million gift “could have come from Russia-linked profits”.

A Reform source suggested the explanation for the alleged attack could be that Putin was angry at Farage over his support for NATO. In January, Labor accused Farage of “repeating the Kremlin’s words” when he said he would vote against deploying UK troops to Ukraine after the peace deal.