UK to hold inquiry into foreign financial interference in domestic politics | Espionage
Reform An independent review into the impact of Russia and other hostile states’ external financial influence and interference in domestic politics has been announced after Nathan Gill, a former senior UK politician, was jailed for accepting a bribe from a pro-Kremlin operative.
The government-commissioned inquiry will focus on the effectiveness of the UK’s political finance laws, at a time when concerns are growing within the security services and parliament about the extent of the external threat to British democracy.
This will include ensuring that regulation can identify foreign influence and that existing safeguards against illicit financial flows, including cryptocurrencies, are effective. In addition, the rules governing all political parties will be examined, as well as the current enforcement powers of the Electoral Commission.
The focus on the evolving threat of political interference in British democracy follows the cases of Gill, a former MP who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking bribes on behalf of the Russian state, and Christine Lee, a UK-based lawyer who was described as secretly working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
After Gill’s decision last month, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said an inquiry into Russia and China’s influence on British politics would be welcomed, so there was an expectation that he would be willing to co-operate alongside other political leaders.
Farage described Gill, who previously led the party in Wales, as a “bad apple” and condemned his actions as “reprehensible, treacherous and inexcusable”, adding that he was pleased justice had been served.
Announcing the review, communities secretary Steve Reed told MPs: “The facts are clear. A British politician took a bribe to support the interests of the Russian regime, which forcibly deported defenseless Ukrainian children and carried out a deadly nerve agent attack on UK soil, killing a British citizen.
“This behavior is a stain on our democracy. This independent review will advance this government’s work to remove this stain.”
Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary of the now-closed Office for Exiting the European Union, will lead the investigation, which will be completed by the end of March 2026. Its findings will then be used to inform next year’s elections and democracy bill.
The review will examine the post-Brexit landscape rather than the impact of Russian disinformation on the 2016 referendum, inevitably disappointing some of those campaigning for another inquiry into that period.
Reed highlighted the government’s election strategy, published in July 2025, which will close loopholes in election financing, strengthen existing rules on donations and restrict shell companies. But he added that Gill’s investigation showed “we need to evaluate whether our firewall is adequate.”
He told MPs: “It’s right that we now take a step back to look at how we can protect our democracy against such terrible crimes… We must learn the lesson so this doesn’t happen again.”
Separately, Farage has faced calls to internally investigate and root out any links between Reform UK and Russia (which he has rejected). Keir Starmer said Farage, whose party is clearly ahead in the polls, has questions to answer about how this happened.
During his time as a senior civil servant, Rycroft led the UK Governance Group, which was responsible for constitutional and electoral affairs. It remains the responsibility of the Electoral Commission and the police to investigate allegations of misconduct.
Security minister Dan Jarvis, who is also chair of the working group defending democracy, added: “This independent review will help strengthen our democracy against covert attempts to interfere in our sovereign affairs.
“It will rigorously test the financial safeguards we currently have in place and ensure we have all the tools necessary to block and deter threats. Protecting national security is our first duty, and we will not tolerate those who alter our national interests for personal gain.”
Jarvis announced last month: counter-political interference and espionage Action plan aimed at preventing and deterring the espionage activities of states such as China and Russia.
According to the plan, intelligence services will provide security briefings to political parties and guide election candidates on suspicious activities. They will also work with professional networking sites like LinkedIn, making them a more hostile work environment for spies.
An attempt by three former MPs to force the government to open an investigation into allegations that Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum failed in the European Court of Human Rights this summer.
The court noted that there were two investigations in the United Kingdom, including the Russia report prepared by the intelligence and security committee in 2020, and a number of legislation, including the 2023 National Security Act, in response to the issue.
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, told MPs his party welcomed the review but there was “the irony of hearing it”. [Reed] “A week after mayoral elections were canceled, talks about protecting democracy will not go unnoticed by millions of British voters.”
He then pressed Reed to confirm that the review “will also include the influence of the Chinese communist regime on the Labor Party – a senior MP allegedly received hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations from a potential Chinese spy”. The review will cover any foreign influence on UK politics.
