Arron Banks, a businessman aligned with Reform UK, has faced allegations of undermining free speech after reportedly commissioning private investigators to monitor a journalist who uncovered controversial funding linked to Nigel Farage. Banks allegedly directed an investigation into Gabriel Pogrund, editor of The Sunday Times’s Insight team, which published reports revealing that George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster, provided undeclared financial support to Farage during the period leading up to the last general election.
The Sunday Times investigation detailed that Cottrell offered various benefits in kind, including social media assistance and accommodation, to Farage. Following the publication, Farage resigned as a Member of Parliament, prompting a by-election in Clacton. Reform UK has maintained that all donations complied with relevant regulations. Banks, who supported Farage and previously ran unsuccessfully as Reform’s mayoral candidate in the West of England, did not deny instructing the surveillance but framed it as a defensive response. In comments to journalists, he suggested the newspaper’s reporting was based on hacked materials and defended the investigative measures as part of an advanced intelligence capability.
The newspaper strongly contested Banks’s assertion, emphasizing that their findings arose from professional journalism and not illicitly obtained information.
Concerns over Banks’s actions have been expressed by several political figures and free speech advocates. Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell, a Conservative peer and former CEO of the Vote Leave campaign, cautioned that the use of surveillance and intimidation could deter qualified individuals from public service. He further criticized such tactics—whether by Banks or other political groups—as detrimental to democratic discourse and press freedom. Baron Young of Acton, founder of the Free Speech Union and a former Conservative peer who has shown support for Reform, also condemned the use of private investigators against journalists, underscoring the essential role of an independent press in holding power to account without fear or favour.
A Labour Party spokesperson echoed these concerns, stressing the importance of an unhindered press and urging Nigel Farage to clarify whether he was aware of or endorsed the investigative actions undertaken by his associate.
The private investigations into Pogrund are not unprecedented. In 2023, following reporting on undisclosed funding involving the Labour-aligned think tank Labour Together, Josh Simons commissioned a dossier on the journalist, which later contributed to his resignation as a minister and subsequent departure from Parliament.
Additionally, Farage and Reform deputy leader Richard Tice announced plans to pursue legal action against the National Crime Agency (NCA) over the alleged leaking of confidential financial records to the media. Tice accused the NCA of committing multiple criminal offences related to the disclosure of sensitive banking information and conversations with financial institutions. The pair are seeking damages and a formal apology in relation to the matter.
Banks’s disputed use of private investigators and the ongoing legal challenges underscore mounting tensions surrounding political funding transparency and press freedoms ahead of forthcoming electoral contests.