Late on Tuesday afternoon, as the British media was absorbing Nigel Farage’s shock decision to hold a byelection amid scrutiny over his finances, his Reform UK party supplied the Telegraph with a different story.
The article revealed that Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, had accused the National Crime Agency (NCA) of leaking financial information to the media. Both he and Farage had been the subject of the claimed leaks, Tice said.
To the average reader glancing at the headline, it appeared to be a serious, unprompted allegation. However, the story emerged only after Reform had been approached by the Guardian over a revelation that a £5m gift to Farage by a cryptocurrency billionaire had been reported to the NCA.
The Telegraph story also contained details of donations and loans Tice and his company had received from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster, and Cottrell’s mother, Fiona. Again, the details had recently been put to Reform by the Guardian.
It was an extreme example of a Fleet Street “spoiler” – a term used to describe a party handing a problematic story to a more sympathetic outlet.
But it was not the first time Reform had used the tactic. In April, after the Guardian had approached Farage over a story revealing he had been given an undisclosed £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024, the Telegraph ran an interview with Farage in which he claimed his home had been firebombed.
It also slipped in the fact that Harborne had given Farage a figure in the region of £5m “to pay for his security”.
The Telegraph stories appear to be one branch of Reform’s more aggressive approach to the media, which has recently seen Farage confront both the Times, for publishing a picture of one of his houses, and Sky News, for knocking on the door of a property where his daughter lives.
Sky News later took the unusual step of issuing a statement, saying it had approached the property without a camera operator, identified themselves as Sky News, and “the adult occupant chose not to engage”. The Times identified the house as in Kent and blurred out the house number.
It also follows personal attacks from Farage on the media. At his press conference on Tuesday, he turned on a Sunday Times journalist who revealed he had been funded by Cottrell.
Ben Taylor, the Sunday Times editor, accused Farage of “appalling” tactics and said the Reform leader had to decide whether he wanted to “go down the Trumpian route”.
Nigel Farage speaking to Donald Trump on his radio show in October 2019. Photograph: LBC/Youtube
Previously, Farage has attacked a Guardian photographer for visiting his home. The Guardian issued a statement at the time stating it was concerned by the move and that the photographer had been “working lawfully in a public space”.
With Reform’s attempts to sideline the media altogether with Farage’s new Substack and the party’s own podcast, the attacks mark an attempt to renew Reform’s status as the plucky outsider, taking on the establishment – even after months of leading in the polls.
However, Reform’s relationship with the Telegraph – as well as its links with rightwing news channel GB News – means its approach mixes old media allies with new outlets.
The future of the Telegraph could play a big part in the success of that approach. The titles have just been bought by Axel Springer, the German publisher that aims to pitch the Telegraph at a centre-right global audience. That could have implications on its political coverage, particularly that of Reform.
Away from its story detailing Tice’s NCA claims, Reform may already be concerned by the Telegraph’s coverage. Its front page on Wednesday said “Farage gamble turns to farce”, as other parties announced they would not take part in the byelection he had called.
An accompanying comment piece was headlined: “Farage’s demagogic byelection stunt makes no sense.”
Reform and the Telegraph were approached for comment.
