Tories call for information watchdog to probe Reform UK’s data requests
The information watchdog should open an investigation into Reform UK, because of risks around data it has requested for its town hall cost-cutting drive, the Conservatives have said.
Nigel Farage’s political party has requested a broad swathe of information from the councils it now controls across England, as it begins an initiative to drive down local public spending based on the US’s Department of Government Efficiency, also known as Doge.
But shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake warned that handing the data to Reform is a “cyber-security disaster waiting to happen” as he wrote to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) calling for an investigation.
Whistleblowers
Data about the identities of whistleblowers, the names and addresses of people who receive meals on wheels, and the amount of cash foster carers receive could be revealed and put at risk in the broad package Reform has requested, the Tories claimed.
In a letter to the ICO seen by the PA news agency, the Conservatives also questioned who would be handling the data on behalf of Reform UK, which has said it will use a “unit of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors” to analyse the information.
In the letter, Mr Hollinrake said: “I believe that the scale of such unauthorised data transfers across local government is a cyber-security disaster waiting to happen.
“There is a strong public interest in the Information Commissioner taking pro-active steps to investigate and, if necessary, issue enforcement notices against the public authorities and Reform UK Ltd.
“I also suspect that council staff would welcome the support of the Information Commissioner, given the clear threats to sack them if they sound the alarm on breaches of the law.
“It is also not in the financial interests of local taxpayers for their council to be exposed to the liability of fines for breaching the law.”
Legal basis
The Conservatives suggested there was a “lack of legal basis” for Reform’s data requests.
Kent County Council, which is now controlled by Reform after the May elections, is the first local authority where the party is rolling out its Doge plans.
In a letter to the council signed by Mr Farage, Reform’s head of Doge Zia Yusuf and its new council leader Linden Kemkaran, the party said its team of analysts was “bound by data protection obligations and professional standards”.
It also warned: “Should you resist this request, we are ready to pass a council motion to compel the same and will consider any obstruction to be gross misconduct. We trust this will not be required.”
Reform won control of 10 councils in the May elections, which also include County Durham, Derbyshire, Doncaster, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, and West Northamptonshire.
The party also won the inaugural regional mayoral contests in Greater Lincolnshire, and Hull and East Yorkshire, and has minority control of several councils.
Arron Banks – one of Reform UK’s leaders on the Doge initiative – was also singled out by the Conservatives in their letter, which pointed to the £120,000 fine his company Eldon Insurance and the Leave.EU campaign received from the ICO over data breaches in 2019.
Mr Banks lost an appeal against the data breach in 2021.
Reform’s head of Doge Mr Yusuf claimed the Conservatives “were desperate to cover up the corruption and waste of their now deposed local government regimes”.
He added: “It will not work.
“Just as they plundered hundreds of millions from the British taxpayers during Covid, they have done the same at councils.
“Reform councillors were voted in to expose it, and with the help of Reform’s Doge team, they will do just that.”
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What absolute tosh, it’s amazing that the Conservatives have the gaul to question this Reform as everyone has the right ask for data under freedom of Information. As an observer seeing the Conservatives and Labour fighting to criticise Reform for every thing is unbelievable. It’s clear they are both worried of the advance Reform has made but looking on we all on (your not you should be) laughing your heads off as the continuous moaning and fighting they both are playing out and 4 years to go before an election
They don’t have a right to demand access to your personal data.
There also many rules including independent auditing.
I hope they get tied up in the courts for ages.
And what is Friedmans background in this? He is not doing it for “free”.
doge in the US has caused almost terminal damage to many institutions. Its cost is order of magnitude above the claimed savings and even then those claimed savings is a lie. They have gutted respected institutions and will take decades to rebuild. reform are not going to fix anything, they are already falling apart in England especially their “vetting” (which amounts to hoping no one finds out about bad candidates). They are a bunch of grifters. We have data laws in the UK and letting a musk wannabe loose in systems is bad. Very bad for protections and costs. They… Read more »
Johnny ‘Rotten’ Lydon (a declared Trumpist) pops up on Reform TV sometimes. I think this is what he meant by ‘Anarchy in the UK’.
The cess pit slug out continues.
I’m surprised that a group of people stuck in the mindset of 1930’s Germany can even switch a computer on.