Review of foreign financial interference in UK politics to be published, with ban on crypto donations expected – UK politics live | Politics
important events
Inflation in Britain remained at 3 per cent before Iran war hit global energy prices
The UK inflation rate held steady at 3% in February before Donald Trump’s Iran war increased global energy costs and threatened a fresh price rise. Heather Stewart reports.
What did the joint committee on national security strategy say about the case to ban crypto donations to parties?
This is the duty of Parliament joint committee on national security strategy He said the following about the case of banning cryptocurrency donations to political parties: A report on political finance and foreign influence It was published last week.
Crypto donations pose an unnecessary and unacceptably high risk to the integrity of the political financial system and the public’s trust in it. We acknowledge that future regulations may institutionalize the use of alternative payment systems for use in donations. But right now the opportunity to evade the rules is too high, the adequacy of mitigations too low, and the resource costs of trying to implement acceptable oversight are disproportionate. We see no democratic obligation to allow cryptocurrency to be used in political finance until adequate security measures are in place.
Crypto also poses wider risks to the integrity of political finance: donors can convert ‘dirty’ foreign crypto funds into ‘clean’ UK fiat and then donate them without raising too much suspicion. Therefore, a ‘last mile’ ban on crypto donations is not a panacea. Specialist skills to address upstream risks are insufficient and require further study.
The government should introduce a binding moratorium on crypto donations as a change to the bill’s representation. This moratorium should remain in place until the Electoral Commission issues legal guidance on crypto donations applicable to regulated entities.
Review of foreign financial interference in UK politics to be published and crypto donations expected to be banned
Good morning. In December, the government announced that Philip Rycroft, the Brexit department’s former permanent secretary, would lead a review into foreign financial interference in UK politics. The review is being published today and will include recommendations that the government is said to be implementing as a priority.
The review will make recommendations for all political parties, but no one in government is trying to argue that one party in particular is not the main focus. Rycroft was hired for the job shortly after former Reform UK leader Nathan Gill in Wales was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison for taking bribes to spread pro-Russian propaganda. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described Gill as a one-off bad apple, but other Brexit party MPs have made pro-Russia speeches similar to Gill’s. Reform UK is the Brexit party with a new name.
And Reform UK is the only political party to actively encourage donations in cryptocurrency, which is seen as the currency of choice for people who want to avoid the attention of regulators. of parliament joint committee on national security strategy called for a ban on crypto donations to political parties and according a story with Max Kendix Rycroft in the Times will say he agrees. Kendix says: “Keir Starmer is expected to ban cryptocurrency donations in a blow to Nigel Farage as an independent review warns they risk allowing foreign powers to interfere with British democracy.”
Here is the agenda of the day.
9.30: Health Minister Wes Streeting will give a speech. He will welcome figures showing the public’s satisfaction with the NHS has increased for the first time since 2019, as Denis Campbell reports.
9.30: The Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes figures showing 2026/27 council tax figures for England.
Morning: The government will publish the report Philip Rycroft’s examination of foreign financial intervention in UK politics.
Afternoon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
Afternoon: Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, takes questions from MSPs. (FMQs are normally held on Thursday, but this week it is on Wednesday due to the holidays approaching.)
After 12.30: Local government secretary Steve Reed is expected to make a Commons statement on the Rycroft review.
Afternoon: Peers will debate the child welfare and schools bill, and there will be a move to reinsert the clause imposing a social media ban on under-16s, which was initially added by the Lords (against the government’s wishes) but later removed again by peers.
16.30: Energy secretary Michael Shanks presents evidence on energy resilience to the Commons energy committee.
If you would like to contact me, please send a message below the line or send a message on social media during comments open hours (between 10:00 – 15:00). I can’t read all messages BTL, but if you type “Andrew” in a message addressed to me, I’m more likely to see it because I’m looking for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something urgently, it’s best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has stopped posting from their official account on
I find it very helpful when readers point out errors, even minor typos. No mistake is too small to be corrected. I also find your questions very interesting. I can’t promise to answer them all, but I will try to answer as much as I can, either on BTL or sometimes on the blog.
