Bridget Phillipson condemns Richard Tice’s ‘chilling attempt to silence free press’

Richard Tice has been accused by Labour’s Bridget Phillipson of mounting a “deeply chilling attempt to silence the free press” after he sent a legal threat to The Guardian over its reporting on his financial affairs.Lawyers for Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, singled out a Guardian correspondent for her journalism about a series of Tice’s financial transactions that were referred to the National Crime Agency.Tice is now suing the NCA, claiming that the information could only have come from an officer within the agency.In a separate letter to The Guardian, Tice’s lawyers made clear they would be seeking disclosure of documents that they believe could reveal the details of sources.In response, Phillipson, the chair of the Labour party, said it was an attempt to silence journalism. She said: “Rather than answer serious allegations, Richard Tice is now trying to harass those who have exposed them. The Reform deputy leader should drop this lawsuit [against the NCA] and come clean.“Trumped-up legal letters targeting honest journalism are very revealing. Reform have zero regard for the cornerstones of British democracy: they’re unpatriotic and pathetic.”The move was also criticised by the Liberal Democrats, anti-corruption and press freedom campaigners. The Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson, Lisa Smart, said: “Weaponising the legal system to hunt down journalists’ sources is a desperate, bullying tactic. Tice has revealed what we all always knew to be true – Reform’s agenda is completely incompatible with a free and open democracy. They have proven once again that they are entirely unfit for public office.”Susan Hawley, the director of Spotlight on Corruption, said: “Using legal threats to strong-arm journalists into disclosing their sources amounts to a deeply concerning attack on press freedom.”Hawley said Tice would be better served being open about the legitimate questions being asked of him and Reform UK, rather than “trying to discredit those who have reported on them”. “Democracy depends on an independent press, and the government must get serious about introducing safeguards against abusive legal tactics.”Phil Brickell, the Labour MP and chair of the all-party group on anti-corruption, said Tice had “questions to answer as to how money donated to Reform was reportedly routed through his companies”.“What we now see is a contemptible campaign by Tice to detract from those public interest questions by threatening hard-working journalists and seeking to uncover their sources. It shows once again that the government must act to ensure that those seeking to expose wrongdoing are protected from the rich and powerful seeking to silence them.”Tice and Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, have been under intense scrutiny in recent months because of a continuing investigation by The Guardian into their financial affairs.Separately, the Sunday Times has also published a series of stories about Reform’s funding.The Guardian revealed in a series of detailed reports that Reform UK received a secret £1m donation via a fundraising vehicle run by Tice and that Farage received a secret £5m gift shortly before he announced he would stand in the 2024 general election.The Guardian also revealed that these and other transactions were reported by bankers to the NCA over fears they could involve laundered money.Bridget Phillipson said Reform UK and Richard Tice had no respect for the ‘cornerstones of democracy’. Photograph: Yui Mok/PAA “suspicious activity report” is not proof of wrongdoing, rather it is an invitation for the agency to examine the transaction to decide whether there are grounds to investigate it further. It is not the same as a crime report.Farage and Tice have denied any wrongdoing.Throughout its reports The Guardian has referred to financial industry sources.Tice has suggested in a document filed at the high court that The Guardian’s award-winning City editor, Anna Isaac, could not have had sources at multiple banks.In legal correspondence sent directly to Isaac, Tice’s lawyers suggested he was seeking to unmask sources based on his own assessment of the reporter’s work.Farage has also issued proceedings against the NCA.Jemimah Steinfeld, the chief executive of the Index on Censorship, said it had the “appearance of an attempt to force a journalist to break the golden rule: that sources must be protected”.“This has been vital public interest reporting by The Guardian. The sources of such journalism are sacred. If the facts are incorrect, then they can be challenged, but the sources should not be chased down. This appears to be a tactic designed to not only silence journalists but those who talk to them. It is a nasty tactic and we should all be concerned.”Theo Bamber, the chief executive at the News Media Association, said: “Robust protection for journalists’ sources is absolutely fundamental to ensuring that reporters can scrutinise authority and hold the powerful to account on behalf of the people impacted by their actions and decisions.“The use of legal threats by an individual or organisation trying to force journalists to disclose their confidential sources is an attack on this important principle, and one that must be resisted at every turn.”A Guardian News and Media (GNM) spokesperson said: “Richard Tice’s legal threat against The Guardian appears to be a calculated attempt to deflect attention away from legitimate questions about his financial affairs and the funding of Reform UK.“Instead of providing answers to those questions, he seems intent on intimidating journalists and seeking to expose sources. The Guardian will oppose these attacks on the freedom of the press and will not be deterred from public interest-driven investigations into politicians and the parties they represent.”Tice and his partner, Isabel Oakeshott, used social media posts on Tuesday night to criticise The Guardian. Tice said: “Lefty journos now bleating as they don’t like tables being turned on them … These lefty journos want war. They’ve got war.”Last week it emerged that the prominent Reform UK member and Brexit campaigner Arron Banks set private investigators on a Sunday Times journalist after he broke a series of stories about Farage.