Friday, May 29, 2026
Was Farage hacked?
The paper says that Anna Turley, Labour’s chairwoman, has written to the Clacton MP, urging him to publicly confirm whether he has reported the suspected cyber-attack to either the police or the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). She has said that if Farage fails to respond, then the Labour Party intends to make a report itself "in the public and national interest":
Farage received £5 million from Thailand-based crypto-entrepreneur Christopher Harborne in 2024, before he stood in the general election that year.
He has previously said the money was for non-political purposes, to pay for his safety and security, and later told The Sun it was a “reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”.
A party source reportedly told the Mail On Sunday that forensic analysis of Mr Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts” indicated that “hostile state actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, had used ‘spear phishing’ tactics to compromise his phone, email and bank accounts”.
Mr Farage told the newspaper: “These actions by Russia are deeply concerning and highlight the threat they pose to British security.”
Former NCSC boss Professor Ciaran Martin on Monday appeared to cast doubt over Mr Farage’s analysis, saying it was “without any merit”.
According to The Guardian newspaper, he said: “An aspiring prime minister has essentially claimed that Russia has launched an unprecedentedly aggressive intervention – a malicious intervention – in British politics, and he’s not produced a shred of evidence to support that claim.”
Ms Turley said she was “very concerned to read” that Mr Farage was allegedly hacked.
“If your suspicions are correct, this would constitute a serious cybercrime and a potential hostile-state operation directed at the leader of a British political party,” she told the party leader.
“I note that public reporting does not appear to confirm that this matter has been reported either to the police or to the National Cyber Security Centre.
“Instead, the reports state that you privately commissioned analysis from unnamed ‘counter-espionage experts’, who concluded that ‘hostile state actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, had used spear phishing tactics’ to compromise your phone email and bank accounts.
“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.”
As serious as a possible hack is, in many ways it detracts from the main issue - the funding of a UK politician and his political party by an overseas businessman to the tune of millions of pounds and the failure by Farage to report the £5m gift to the Parliamentary authorities.
The more Farage changes or adds to the story behind this gift, the less credible it seems. We need to establish the facts.
