United Kingdom: Arron Banks Faces Calls to Disclose Surveillance of Journalists

The News Media Association (NMA), which represents regional and national media, raised concerns after Banks appeared to admit over the weekend to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist. The revelation, first reported in the New Statesman, has sparked fears that other journalists examining the funding of Reform and Nigel Farage, including those at the Guardian, could have been targeted. When asked whether he had commissioned investigators to surveil Guardian reporters, Banks said he was "not really interested in the Guardian" but declined to comment further.

The Guardian and the Sunday Times have recently published stories revealing how cash has been given to Reform and Farage personally from donors and wealthy benefactors. Theo Bamber, chief executive of the NMA, said aggressive attempts to deter journalistic inquiry were at risk of becoming normalised.