Good morning. One of the privileges of working at the Guardian is attending our morning conference – the gathering of colleagues from across departments to discuss our daily publishing schedule – which is open to every journalist in the building. This is a rarity across media organisations, which tend to keep these discussions to the most senior editors.
These past few days, the morning meetings have been busier than usual as City editor, Anna Isaac, relayed the twists and turns of her exclusive reporting on Reform’s deepening financial scandal – and the fact that Nigel Farage would rather fight a byelection with an intergalactic space warrior than respond to her questions.
Morning conference has remained open to all for decades now, thanks to an understanding that everything said in the room remains there. But after a week like this one, I’ve got dispensation from the higher ups to bring you into the meeting room with us, as Anna talks me through the spoiler tactics, legal threats and the slow, then fast, unravelling of Nigel Farage’s credibility.
Five big stories
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UK politics | Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, saying the party “didn’t get it right” and needs to “do better” under his leadership, signalling a significant shift in the UK’s approach to the Middle East.
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Middle East | The US and Iran traded retaliatory strikes on Thursday as Donald Trump threatened to escalate the conflict unless Iran stopped attacking ships in the strait of Hormuz.
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Spain | Twelve people were reported killed in a wildfire in Almeria in southern Spain, as about 150 firefighters battled the blaze which broke out amid soaring temperatures.
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UK news | Vapes could be sold in plain packaging as part of a range of proposals to stop them being marketed to children.
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UK politics | Keir Starmer has signalled he could hand out resignation honours when he leaves Downing Street, despite pledging three years ago he would not do so when he eventually stood down.
In depth: Having to reply to media for Farage was the straw that broke the camel’s back
On Tuesday morning, Anna was at her desk in the Guardian’s London headquarters putting the final touches to the story that has dominated the news this week: her exclusive that the £5m gift to Nigel Farage from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne had been reported to the National Crime Agency by bankers who were concerned it may have been laundered money.
She was already braced for the unexpected: “I’d heard a whisper from a Reform insider, and then I saw Farage’s post on X [that he would be making a ‘statement about his future in public life’ at 2pm].”
“I knew there’d been debates about his future over the weekend within Reform, that he was considering all kinds of options – even stepping down,” she tells me.
Anna explains how Farage’s panic seemingly began after she put in her first round of “rights of reply” – a journalistic duty which involves contacting the person or organisation that is the subject of a story, so they are aware of the allegations and have an opportunity to respond before publication. This is, as our longest-serving editor CP Scott put it in 1921, because: “The voice of opponents no less than that of friends has a right to be heard.”
In an attempt to get Farage to directly address some of the Guardian’s questions Anna put in a second right of reply – giving Farage a deadline of 1pm on Tuesday to respond. “As I understand it, that may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back and he decided to go for it”.
And so at 2pm, in a rambling video address during which he claimed to be the “most physically and verbally attacked public figure or politician of modern times”, Farage announced that he would force a byelection in his seat of Clacton-on-Sea, in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to outrun the worsening scandal.
It’s a tactic that has spectacularly backfired after all other main parties confirmed they would boycott the contest, leaving Farage in a two-way fight with the veteran parody candidate (and 5,900-year-old leader of the Recyclons) Count Binface.
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Choreographed spoilers
What followed was a coordinated endeavour by Reform to undermine the Guardian’s reporting. While rights of reply are good journalistic practice, they can provide individuals the opportunity to pass on what is contained in them – which usually amounts to fine details of the allegations against them – to a more sympathetic media outlet, a classic spoiler tactic to reframe the narrative in their favour.
Anna had been working on a much wider story, about donations and loans that Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice and his company had received from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster, and Cottrell’s mother, Fiona, which had likewise caused bankers to report potential money-laundering concerns to the NCA.
“It appeared to be a coordinated effort to disrupt our reporting,” Anna tells me. “It looks like Richard Tice then briefed the Telegraph – he had a 5 pm deadline to reply to us and insisted, the Guardian understands, that the Telegraph publish their story by 4.30pm”.
Tice had also earlier threatened the Guardian with an injunction.
Anna says she was anticipating some pushback – this was not her first rodeo after all. In April, when she originally revealed that Farage had been given an undisclosed loan of £5m by Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 British general election, the Reform leader gave an interview to the Telegraph before the Guardian published, in an attempt to downplay the story.
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The context
As our media editor Michael Savage sets out in his sharp analysis, these classic Fleet Street spoilers are part of Reform’s increasingly aggressive approach towards the media, with Farage confronting broadcasters and individual reporters about their coverage. In May, he circulated the details of a Guardian photographer online, after he attended Farage’s home. The Guardian issued a statement at the time stating it was concerned by Farage’s response, and that the photographer had been “working lawfully in a public space”.
Michael suggests these attacks, alongside its launch of a new podcast and Substack, “mark an attempt to renew Reform’s status as the plucky outsider, taking on the establishment” – as polling this week put Labour ahead of Reform for the first time in a year, evidence of a Burnham bounce and potentially the impact of intense scrutiny of the party’s finances.
Sending a “right to reply” is often an anxious time for journalists, explains Nick Hopkins, our head of news, when I catch up with him after an exhausting week. But Farage and Tice have “added a whole new layer of jeopardy to this established and essential journalistic process”.
“‘Spoilers’ are not unusual,” says Nick, who has steered some of the Guardian’s most complex investigations over the years, including the Snowden files and the Panama Papers. But Reform seems to be normalising them.
“It’s a dangerous tactic. Why would journalists go to anyone if they thought there was a good chance inquiries would be handed to another, rival organisation?
“It’s a strategy for chaos. Does it really benefit Reform in the long run? The thing about unanswered questions is, they don’t go away.”
These repeated spoilers are “really difficult” to navigate, Anna admits.
“We have to strike a balance between maintaining our standards … [while also knowing] that some people either won’t engage with the process or will seek to undermine it. We’re also dealing with people who will use litigation to have a chilling effect. So we have to weigh up the different risks.”
“But at the end of the day, we ran the stories and yet again, their spoilers only serve to confirm our journalism.”
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Why it matters, and what next
Anna has built her career on scrupulous long-term investigations of difficult financial stories involving government agencies and political parties.
When she was recognised at the 2024 UK Press Awards for her work on sexual misconduct at the CBI, she was praised for exposing “the clubby immoral behaviour of powerful people”.
And she has spent many months investigating the financial dealings of Reform UK precisely because of what’s at stake.
“We can see from the May election results that Reform are a massive electoral force in this country. If this could be our government in 2029, it’s never been more important to scrutinise them.”
I’ve been really struck by reasoning that sources gave for speaking to the Guardian about these transactions: they wanted the electorate to be equipped with the knowledge to judge a major political party, based on how transparent it has been about its finances.
But another key concern they raised, Anna tells me, is that any potential NCA investigation could take years to conclude because of the agency’s strapped resources. “And with where we are in the electoral cycle, we might not have those years.”
Farage’s own behaviour this week, she suggests, “is indicative of someone that thinks the parliamentary standards investigation [into the undeclared £5m loan] might be very difficult for him. And of course, if he wins his seat again, the investigation can restart.”
The Metropolitan police confirmed in a statement on Thursday night that they are investigating donations made by Fiona Cottrell after a referral by the Electoral Commission.
And legislation is making its way – slowly – through parliament to limit overseas and cryptocurrency donations to UK political parties. Last night we revealed that Labour MPs are expected to push ministers for even tougher measures amid escalating concern about foreign political interference in elections.
This is all wraps into one question, says Anna: “Is anything going to happen in terms of either law or accountability quickly enough? And we just don’t know”.
Regardless of all the noise and aggression emitted by Reform, Anna says: “We’ll just carry on doing what we’re doing, holding all political parties to account whenever they need to be.” That’s a promise.
And if you want to read more investigations like this, then please consider supporting us. Your contribution gives reporters the vital time and space we need to continue producing impactful journalism.
What else we’ve been reading
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Our You be the judge series is always fun – and this one is a summer classic: should my friend stop expecting gratitude for splitting a freebie? Patrick
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This photo gallery of the superlative Bonnie Tyler across the decades proves that a back-combed feather cut never goes out of style.
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Do not miss this beautiful photo essay by South African photographer Sabelo Mlangeni who embedded himself in queer and rural communities for this series. Patrick
World Cup 2026
France 2 - 0 Morocco | Kylian Mbappé scored a stunning opener after a first-half penalty miss in France’s victory against Morocco to reach the World Cup semi-finals. They will now face the winner of Spain v Belgium, which takes place later today.
Racism |Ashifa Kassam has taken a look at what is behind the surge in racist abuse during the World Cup – both on social media platforms and offline.
The path to the final | France or Morocco will already be through to the final four by the time you read this, but Guardian football writers have been making their predictions for the rest of the tournament. Let’s hope Bryan Armen Graham is right.
Today’s Fixture
Spain v Belgium, 8pm on BBC
Sport
Tennis | Karolina Muchova edged out Coco Gauff in a deciding-set tie-break, while Linda Noskova produced a clinical display to defeat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, to reach the final of Wimbledon.
Cycling | Tadej Pogacar won stage six of the Tour de France, which finished on the brutal Col du Tourmalet mountain pass in the Pyrenees.
Cricket |Raf Nicholson has previewed the first ever Test match at Lord’s for England’s women’s team against India, which begins later today.
Something for the weekend
Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now
Film
The Last One for the Road | ★★★★☆
Francesco Sossai’s new film (pictured above) is not one that recognises the spoilsport clinical concept of “alcoholism”. Rather, it is the cynically amused and lenient witness to drunkenness, bleariness, sadness and intermittent nausea; to the tragicomic optimism of ageing boozers, ruined romantics with a superhuman ability to keep imbibing throughout the day, always wanting just one last drink, and then one last drink after that in the hope that elusive happiness will finally materialise. It is a road movie, a buddy movie and a faintly baffling shaggy-dog tale; a coming-of-age story that embraces infantilism and not coming of age; a bittersweet comedy without the sweet. It is intensely depressing yet funny at the same time. Peter Bradshaw
TV
Abandoned | ★★★★☆
Did you know your surname when you were five years old? The more you think about it, the harder the question becomes to answer. Most of us will have been lucky enough for it not to matter – parents or guardians were always on hand to look after those details. But for Ramón, Elvira and Ricard, it was a very real issue. The three siblings were found by a station guard as they wandered around Barcelona’s Estació de França in 1984. They carried no luggage or ID. Their family name was a mystery. Over its four episodes, this gripping documentary series both shows and tells what that absence really means. Phil Harrison
Game
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced | ★★★★☆
Edward Kenway isn’t your dad’s Assassin’s Creed protagonist. Neither sworn to ancient oaths nor given a noble destiny, he’s just a guy who likes coin, dislikes rules, and whose gold-chasing, rule-dodging lifestyle sees him embroiled in an ancient war between Templars and assassins quite by accident. He is a brilliant extension of the player, in that way, and that’s what this remake of the 2013 pirate-themed Assassin’s Creed does so well: the sense of freedom. Like the original, Ubisoft Singapore’s Resynced version really nails the fantasy of being a swashbuckling privateer. Your time is nearly all spent doing things that feel core to a pirate’s life: sailing a ship across the seas with your crew, attacking Spanish trade vessels, sword fighting dastardly soldiers, plotting elaborate treasure heists, playing checkers by the harbour with crusty sailors. And unlike in the original game, it’s almost never spent doing things that break that fantasy. Phil Iwaniuk
Books
Service by Lauren Mooney |
There are, MR James tells us, five conditions that must be met for a perfect ghost story: the pretence of truth, a “pleasing terror”, no explanation of the machinery, no gratuitous horror, and that the story belong to the writer’s (and reader’s) “own day”. In Lauren Mooney’s sharply observed debut novel, Danielle lives a precarious existence as a PA at a dilettante arts charity called Hodgepodge (strapline: “for ideas”). She types emails, makes tea and increasingly finds herself running personal errands for her monstrous boss Jeannie. Jeannie seems to see no difference between working for the charity, and working for her. The hauntings of Service are genuinely chilling. Ella Risbridger
The front pages
“Police investigate donations from mother of Farage ally to Reform”, is the Guardian’s front page headline today, and the Times says “Met inquiry into £500k donations to Reform”.
The FT leads on “Burnham weighs plan to install deputy in Downing Street’s northern outpost”, the Mail, also on Burnham, writes “What a shameless stitch-up!”. The Telegraph has “Badenoch purges MPs who back net zero” and the Express writes “Kemi: Only Tories have serious policies”.
The i Paper says “UK’s 1.6 million weight loss jab users told to start strength training”. The Mirror runs with “Ignorant” over Restore Britain leader’s comments on Dunblane. Lastly, the Sun, on the World Cup, has “Ban out of order”.
The Latest
US and Iran trade strikes: is Trump’s peace deal over?
The US president has said the truce with Iran is ‘over’ amid 48 hours of intense strikes. In the days leading to this escalation, three tankers were attacked by Iran in the strait of Hormuz, raising questions about the clarity of the ceasefire agreement signed in June. The US military’s attacks occurred during the week-long funeral of Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which drew millions on to the streets. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior international correspondent Julian Borger.
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
Harry Kane has always been an enigmatic footballing superstar, his humble, affable, slightly awkward demeanour – recently showcased the funniest and certainly squeakiest post-match interview of all time – contrasting with his deadly finishing. And yet, it’s these unexplored qualities that have stood the England captain in such good stead during his meteoric career, writes Sam Cunningham. “Harry’s great company. He was quietly confident he was going to have a good career,” said the former England under-20s manager Peter Taylor. “You could just tell there’s something about him – he was confident. It wasn’t a case of ‘football owes me a living’; it was: ‘I’m gonna work me socks off to have one.’”
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
