The Telegraph and Reform UK are facing claims of undermining public interest journalism and eroding trust between reporters and politicians, after Nigel Farage’s party gave the newspaper stories first uncovered by other outlets.
It is understood there is unease among editorial staff at the Telegraph about Reform’s repeated use of the outlet for “spoilers”: a media tactic designed to pre-empt a problematic story by placing it with a title seen as more sympathetic.
The concern comes after the Telegraph published details of two unprecedented £36m donations to Reform from crypto billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. It did so shortly after Farage and a party spokesperson had been approached for comment about the donations by the Sunday Times.
“A fundamental part of political reporting – approaching for comment before publishing – just totally breaks down if this is what happens,” said the Sunday Times political editor, Ben Riley-Smith. “Bad for both sides: [It] will increase the chance of inaccuracies.”
It follows similar instances in which Reform has attempted to use the Telegraph to neutralise potentially damaging stories.
In April, the Guardian revealed that Farage had received a £5m gift from the crypto-billionaire, Christopher Harborne. When the Guardian went to Reform for comment, the party asked for more time to respond – and used the time to brief the Telegraph, which ran fawning interviews with Farage and Harborne.
On another occasion, details of donations and loans to Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, and his company, put to the party by the Guardian, then appeared in a Telegraph story.
A Telegraph journalist said there was “significant unease” about the tactic in the newsroom, with concern that Reform figures had repeatedly undermined journalism with the spoiler tactic.
Other insiders said the criticism was unfair in relation to the latest incident, stating the Telegraph team was not aware that Reform had been approached about the donations by another publication. However, there had been a previous history of Reform using the tactic.
The stories were written by Gordon Rayner, the Telegraph’s associate editor, who has previously served as its political editor and chief reporter. Decisions over publication are ultimately taken by senior editors.
The incident has reignited a debate over the Telegraph’s links to Reform. The title has traditionally been closely associated with the Conservative party.
Some at the title disapproved of a piece about a journalist travelling to Britain on a small boat. It later emerged the journalist in question was a Reform member and activist. The paper also features columns by Isabel Oakeshott, Tice’s partner and an open supporter of many Reform UK policies.
However, Reform’s approach to the Telegraph is inconsistent. Senior Reform figures have attacked it as being part of a pro-Conservative and mainstream media establishment.
Some senior media figures privately argue there is nothing new about Reform’s “spoiler story” tactic, comparing it to New Labour’s news management – and favouring of certain reporters – in the 2000s. However, other media experts said Reform’s stories with the Telegraph were different.
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“It’s utterly destructive behaviour with a new twist – the importance of the campaign finance story, Reform UK as a Trumpist playbook party and corrosive of trust,” said Lionel Barber, the former Financial Times (FT) editor. “I have been victim myself at the FT of this behaviour. But in the end, the good guys win.”
David Banks, a media law consultant, said Reform risked damaging trust and ultimately narrowing their ability to respond to stories. “The danger is that it will make newspapers less willing to extend a larger window of opportunity [to respond to journalistic inquiries],” Banks said.
He added: “If you know your exclusive is going to be spoiled by being sent to another publication, then why would you do anything that would make things convenient or easier for the respondents?
“[Political reporters] have decent working relationships and things like this break down that working relationship. Ultimately, it’s bad for the public as well, because the journalism they see isn’t going to be as balanced as editors might like it to be, because this behaviour has meant it is harder to produce balanced reporting.”
It comes at a critical moment in the Telegraph’s history. It is now under the ownership of the German media powerhouse, Axel Springer, though its executives have not yet made significant changes.
Some Telegraph writers believe there has been more challenging coverage of Reform recently. On Monday, it published a piece by its columnist Suzanne Moore under the headline: “Reform is a party for very rich men who pretend to care about ordinary people.”
Telegraph Media Group and Reform UK were contacted for comment.
