THE former chief of the UK's cyber security agency has hit out at claims made by Nigel Farage that his phone was "hacked" by Russian agents.
Ciaran Martin, who served as the head of cyber security at GCHQ and later as the first chief executive of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, has claimed the Reform UK leader created "unsubstantiated claims" about foreign interference to avoid scrutiny when "something inconvenient comes out".
His comments come after Farage claimed that his phone was hacked by agents of the Russian state, who then leaked details of a secret £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire to the media.
Farage had wanted to keep the money from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne a secret, and a Reform source told the Daily Mail that “only four people in the world knew” about it.
He claimed that he had sent his phone to counter espionage experts in order for them to conduct forensic analysis on the phone and any malware that had been installed.
The Mail reported that the experts “concluded that hostile state actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, had used ‘spear phishing’ tactics to compromise his phone, email and bank accounts”.
Farage said: “These actions by Russia are deeply concerning and highlight the threat they pose to British security.”
Martin has now hit out at Farage's account of the events, saying that until more evidence is provided "we must treat this claim as unsubstantiated".
He explained that it is highly unusual for the analysis company to have not been named and for no technical information regarding the hack, beyond being described as a spear phishing attack, to have been released.
"If someone in a senior and high profile position feels they’ve been hacked and gets 'counter espionage experts' to do 'forensic analysis' on the phone, it would then follow that the company which does the analysis is named and that at least some technical evidence to validate the claim should be published," he said.
He also said that Farage's decision to not take the alleged hack to the UK's National Cyber Security Centre was strange, given it has been used since 2017 by political parties and politicians when they faced foreign interference threats or had concerns.
He said: "For someone of this prominence, the incident could have been reported to the National Cyber Security Centre.
"Since the run up to the 2017 General Election and a decision made by Theresa May to help protect the integrity of politics against foreign interference, the NCSC has been made available to help political parties on a confidential basis and several politicians from opposition parties have done so. Reform UK have failed to say whether this has happened."
The revelation of the £5m gift has prompted an investigation by parliamentary authorities into whether Farage broke Commons rules by deciding not to declare it following his election as an MP in 2024.
Farage has claimed the money was a “personal” gift he received before deciding to stand for Parliament again and was meant to pay for his private security for the rest of his life.
However, the Reform leader was reported to have bought a £1.4m house with cash in 2024, shortly after receiving it.
Farage has insisted the gift was unconnected with the purchase of the house, which a party spokesperson said had been funded by his fee from appearing on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2023.
But analysis of Farage’s company accounts, reported by the Financial Times, showed they were “not consistent” with his claims the fee from the reality show was used to purchase the property.
Accounts for Thorn In The Side Ltd, Farage’s company, show the business’s cash position increasing from almost £300,000 in May 2023 to £1.7m a year later, and then again to £2m in 2025.
Tax expert Nimesh Shah, from accountants Blick Rothenberg, told the FT the accounts were “not consistent” with the claim Farage bought the house with his fee from the reality show.
LibDem leader Ed Davey said the Reform UK leader’s “silence” suggested “he might realise he might get thrown out” of the Commons as Westminster’s standards watchdog probes whether he broke rules by not declaring the money.
“The fact that Nigel Farage – he’s never been afraid of getting in front of the camera before, has he? – has now disappeared, suggests that he might realise he’s guilty, he might realise that he has committed an offence, and that he might get thrown out by Parliament,” Davey said.
“Let the investigation judge – that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is going to look at this quite rightly, but his silence suggests and implies guilt.”
Labour chair Anna Turley also weighed in, saying: “It’s clear he’s treating the public for fools and thinks he can just brush this scandal under the carpet. He can’t.
“First, the reason why a Thai-based crypto-billionaire gave him a multi-million pound donation changed, and now the claims about how he paid for one of his houses is being called into question. His story just keeps on changing.”
