Nigel Farage's phone 'hacked by Russian agents who leaked details of £5million gift'

Nigel Farage has claimed that Russian intelligence agents hacked his phone to access confidential details surrounding a £5million gift from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne.

The Reform leader is said to have grown suspicious of foreign interference following last month's disclosure of the donation from the Thailand-based businessman.

The payment was only known about by four people, prompting Mr Farage to commission a forensic examination of his device by counter-espionage specialists, party sources told the Daily Mail.

The Reform leader told the newspaper: "These actions by Russia are deeply concerning and highlight the threat they pose to British security."

The investigation determined that hostile state actors, with near-certain links to Moscow, had deployed sophisticated spear phishing techniques to gain access to Mr Farage's phone, email accounts and banking information.

A party source described the attack as bearing "all the sophisticated hallmarks of a nation state actor using destabilisation techniques in the run-up to this month's local elections".

Spear phishing involves hackers posing as trusted contacts of their target, sending links that install malicious software designed to extract sensitive data.

The Reform sources suggested Mr Farage may have angered the Kremlin through his backing of Nato, whilst Mr Harborne likely attracted Moscow's attention after accompanying Boris Johnson on a visit to Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has launched an inquiry into whether Mr Farage violated Commons regulations by accepting the payment from the tycoon shortly before standing for election in Clacton in 2024.

Potential sanctions for MPs who breach the rules range from a formal apology in the chamber to suspension, which could trigger a recall petition and subsequent by-election.

Mr Farage has maintained he was under no obligation to declare the funds, arguing the gift "wasn't political in any sense" as it covered private security costs during a period when he held no parliamentary position.

Mr Harborne contributed £12million in total to Reform last year, having previously donated substantial sums to the Conservatives and the Brexit Party.

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Defence Secretary John Healey has written to Mr Farage seeking clarification on whether any portion of the £5million gift may have originated from dealings with Russian state-linked energy firms.

If the allegations are proven true, Mr Farage would join a growing list of prominent British politicians targeted by operatives from hostile nations.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss was left "ashen-faced" in 2022 upon learning that suspected Russian agents had accessed a year's worth of her messages, including sensitive intelligence regarding Ukrainian military strategy.

Mr Johnson similarly fell victim to hackers who released over 2,000 files from his time at Downing Street online last year.

George Cottrell, a senior adviser to Mr Farage, also had his phone "critically compromised" whilst working for a pro-Nato party in Montenegro, with US intelligence sources said to have attributed the breach to Moscow.

One source at The Guardian - who first reported news of the donation - dismissed the Reform leader's allegations as "an absurd claim and an attempt to deflect attention from legitimate scrutiny of his financial affairs".

They told the Daily Mail: "Nigel Farage is once again hiding behind a baseless attack on the media rather than facing up to scrutiny from journalists and politicians.

"He has repeatedly failed to answer serious public interest questions about the £5million gift he received."

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