Farage claims Russian hackers compromised phone over £5m gift

Nigel Farage has claimed that Russian intelligence agents hacked his phone to obtain confidential details about a £5 million gift he received from a cryptocurrency billionaire, an allegation that has prompted calls for him to report the matter to security services. The Reform UK leader said he commissioned a forensic analysis of his mobile phone by counterespionage specialists after the donation from Thailand-based entrepreneur Christopher Harborne was disclosed last month. According to a party source, the examination concluded that hostile state actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, used spear phishing tactics to compromise his phone, email and bank accounts. Spear phishing involves hackers posing as trusted contacts to install malicious software that extracts sensitive data.

The £5 million gift has triggered an investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner into whether Farage broke Commons rules by failing to declare it after his election in 2024. Newly elected MPs must declare gifts received in the 12 months before their election unless they could not reasonably be linked to their parliamentary role. Farage has maintained the money was a personal gift used...