Arron Banks urged to set out extent of surveillance of journalists
The News Media Association (NMA), representing regional and national media, has raised concerns after Arron Banks appeared to admit to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist. The revelation has sparked fears that other journalists investigating Reform UK and Nigel Farage, including those at the Guardian, may have been targeted.
When asked whether he had commissioned surveillance of Guardian reporters, Banks—a Reform UK member and former mayoral candidate—stated he was “not really interested in the Guardian” but declined further comment. The Guardian and Sunday Times have recently published stories revealing financial ties between Reform UK, Farage, and wealthy donors.
Industry and Political Reactions
Theo Bamber, CEO of the NMA, condemned the use of private investigators to deter journalistic inquiry, calling it an “attack on our democracy.” He warned:
- “Using private investigators to try to deter journalists from making legitimate inquiries about public figures is an attack on our democracy.”
- “Sadly, intimidation and abuse of local and national journalists is increasingly used as a weapon to limit scrutiny and deflect attention away from matters of public interest.”
- “This must not become normalised. Ministers must wake up to this threat to our democracy and do much more to protect the independent journalism which underpins our democratic way of life.”
Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship, urged Banks to disclose the full extent of his surveillance activities, stating:
- “I really, really hope that it’s not happening to other journalists. But my fear is that it will be, because Gabriel is not the only one who’s asking the right questions about Reform.”
- “These tactics are often used to just stop the questions, to stop accountability, and that can have hugely detrimental effects on our democratic structure.”
Reform UK has denied knowledge of Banks’s alleged actions. Gawain Towler, a Reform board member and former Ukip press head, expressed discomfort but suggested journalists’ sourcing methods warranted scrutiny:
- “Personally I don’t like it. But truly how in the light of the situation does one ask questions with a possibility of getting an answer…”
- “It would be ridiculous of us not to ask questions. So how do you ask questions?”
Former Conservative Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan called such intrusions “not compatible with an open democracy,” stating:
- “Investigating a journalist can only be intended to have a chilling effect on free speech.”
Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart added:
- “Hiring private investigators to target journalists who are simply doing their jobs is a desperate attempt to dodge accountability.”
- “Anyone who uses or condones these tactics demonstrates complete contempt for a free press and should have no business in British public life.”
Banks’s History of Surveillance
The New Statesman reported that Banks instructed Precision Risk and Intelligence—a firm he once owned—to investigate Gabriel Pogrund, editor of the Sunday Times Insight team. Banks told the magazine:
- “We believe the Sunday Times used hacked information and that was an area of interest. We do have an investigative arm that’s got advanced capabilities.”
- When asked directly if he had paid investigators to look into Pogrund, Banks responded: “When you live by the sword, you die by the sword.”
Banks, who led the pro-Brexit group Leave.EU, has previously admitted to hiring “ex-MI5 and SAS” operatives to surveil political opponents, including Conservative peer Matthew Elliott, CEO of the rival Vote Leave campaign. Elliott warned such tactics would “drive out the decent people we need in public life.”