Nigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of a £5m gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts” suggested his accounts were compromised by “hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow”.
Farage told the Mail on Sunday that the alleged Russian activity was “deeply concerning” and highlighted the “threat they pose to British security”. However, a spokesperson for the Guardian described Farage’s claim as “an attempt to deflect attention from legitimate scrutiny of his financial affairs”. They added: “Nigel Farage is once again hiding behind a baseless attack on the media rather than facing up to scrutiny.”
After Farage made the allegation, Labour and the Conservatives called on him to hand any evidence to Britain’s security services. Kevin Hollinrake, chair of the Conservative party, said: “If he has genuine evidence that Russia attempted to hack him, he should immediately hand it to the relevant authorities and be fully transparent with the British public.” A Labour spokesperson added: “Given the seriousness of these claims, Nigel Farage needs to reassure the public that he’s reported this to the security services.”
It is understood the National Cyber Security Centre is not aware of a report from Farage related to the alleged hack. Farage’s spokesperson did not respond to questions over who he had reported the alleged hack to, or whether any evidence was handed to British authorities.
The £5m gift from Harborne, one of the UK’s wealthiest crypto investors, was given to Farage before he announced his general election run in June 2024. Farage initially claimed the money was for security purposes, but later told the Sun it was “given to me on an unconditional basis … as a reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”.
