Tories call for information watchdog to probe Reform UK's data requests
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.
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.'
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'.
Wow.
The failed Tory party, fighting for its existence, has written to the ICO to try to block Reform's DOGE.
They are desperate to cover up the corruption and waste of their now deposed local government regimes.
It will not work.
Just as they plundered hundreds of…
— Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) June 12, 2025
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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Times
5 hours ago
- Times
Reform's Zia Yusuf: My Doge-like mission on behalf of the taxpayer
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Yusuf said: 'I've been doing some analysis already with some of the team on looking at these contracts and zooming in on how much it is costing per mile to take these kids to school. In most cases, it's somewhere between seven and 15 times the cost of an Uber ride.' Yusuf said he wanted to 'really fight for the taxpayer here and say 'it doesn't make sense, the taxpayer shouldn't be paying seven to 12 times more'. ' He said some councils could save 'tens of millions of pounds'. Yusuf said he recently met a mother whose three children all have Sen and go to the same school but are taken in three cars. 'She just thinks it's really wasteful,' he said. He stressed that 'if you're a parent with a child with Sen, then you've got nothing to fear from a Reform council', adding it was an example of how he wanted to 'deliver better services for lower marginal costs'. Action on 'vanity projects' was also signalled by Yusuf. 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7 hours ago
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The Sun
7 hours ago
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Nobody who enters UK illegally should EVER be allowed to stay – it's totally unfair on law-abiding, taxpaying Brits
IT is barely gone 11.30am and Nigel Farage is already clutching a pint. Not an unusual sight for the man once forced to clarify that he is 'a boozer, not an alcoholic'. 5 5 5 But today's glass of 'Remainer tears' — the name plastered on the tap from which the beer was poured — will taste particularly sweet, for he is drinking it in Britain's very first 'Reform pub'. The Talbot in Blackpool used to be associated with the Conservative Party, but, like so many people in the country the landlord and his punters have switched allegiances. Now it is Farage to whom they give a hero's welcome as he and his entourage sweep into the seaside town on an overcast Thursday morning. Dozens of mostly middle-to-older-aged men, many sporting Reform's turquoise ties, have gathered to see the closest thing they have to a political rock star. A beaming Farage enters the venue to a wall of cheers, then the usual scrum for handshakes and selfies begins. 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Home Office statistics reveal a record 14,812 illegals arrived in small boats during the first five months of this year alone. By comparison, in 2024, that figure wasn't reached until July. On Saturday, May 31, 1,194 migrants landed in England on dinghies — the highest number in a single day, obliterating the previous record of 825 set earlier in the month. Immigration only works if you have integration with it. If you don't, you have a divide. And where human beings are divided, history teaches us, you get conflict Nigel Farage Reform has pledged to deport 'every illegal immigrant' in Britain, but the party has yet to convince the public it has a credible plan for achieving this. When pressed on how Reform would succeed where both the Tories and Labour have failed, Farage replies: 'Understand it's not an easy thing to do. We're giving it real, real thought. 'But be clear, no one who comes into Britain illegally should ever be given permanent leave to remain, should ever be going to the benefit system. 'It's totally unfair to law-abiding taxpayers in this country. It's also totally unfair to immigrants who come to Britain legally and spend a lot of money and time doing it.' The answer seems good enough for the gathered voters who cheer their man as we wrap up our interview. The moment the interview ends, Leah Pettinger, a 49-year-old service veteran from Barnsley, who is one of the attendees, presents her political hero with a portrait she did in her new life as an artist. 'Common sense' In the painting Mr Farage's eyes are bulging out of their sockets because he has his 'Eyes On The Prize' — the title of the artwork. 'I think he's a man of the people,' she tells me. 'He has spoken to a lot of ordinary people here today. He has pulled himself a lovely pint of lefty tears from the bar, which is fantastic.' She is echoed by 76-year-old Jim Redgewell, a former Labour voter who has become a Reform fan. 'I was brought up to be a Labour voter, but life has taught me it's not quite right,' he says. 'I don't mind where people come from, because I'm associated with all sorts of people. 'You know, gay people, black people, Chinese. I don't care where they come from, as long as they don't harm the people that I know. 'We want a safe country to live in, where we can trust the police.' John Ormston, the 55-year-old owner of Kodak Express Blackpool, experienced a similar political awakening — but in his case swapped sides from the Tories. He says: 'The Conservatives were given a massive mandate, Boris didn't deliver, so like a lot of other Conservatives, we just fell out. 'It wasn't conservatism — there's not been conservatism for a long, long time, and I believe Nigel brings back not only the conservative side, but he also brings back common sense.' As Mr Farage drains the last of his pint, the Reform faithful around him buzz with a sense of renewed purpose. For many in that pub, he has not just aired their frustrations — he has voiced a worldview they felt had long been ignored. Whether Reform can turn that raw energy into a Westminster government remains to be seen — but in the Talbot in Blackpool, the revolution was already on tap. 5
