Block on political crypto donations and a £100k cap from Britons abroad to take effect today

This is what it says how serious the problem of foreign financial interference in British politics is.

The public has been alerted to the techniques deployed by foreign states through the prosecution and conviction of Nathan Gill for taking bribes to act as an advocate for Russia; and the security alert issued by MI5 against Christine Lee for using donations to covertly influence politicians to further the interests of the Chinese state; as well as the 2022 cyber attack on the Electoral Commission.

Self-evidently, the security services do not reveal publicly the nature and extent of their live investigations, but the NPSA has issued guidance to all elected representatives to alert them to the risk that they may be the target of covert foreign influence campaigns.

The risk of impermissible donations of foreign money to political parties in the UK also remains high. Albeit from a low base, the number of donations that have had to be returned as impermissible is increasing15. By definition, the amount of foreign money that has actually leached into UK politics is unknowable.

The impact of foreign money and covert foreign activity is difficult to assess. My assessment from the evidence I have seen is that while there is persistent activity, the impact is still contained and felt only at the margins of UK political life.

And here is an extract from the report’s conclusions.

We as a nation also face, like all others, a radically new technology of information dissemination through social media. This is changing so much in the way that we go our lives, much of it to our benefit, some of it not. Where those adverse effects are the consequence of hostile foreign interference, the public should expect the state to take robust action to counter the threat. There is, I believe, more that the Government should be doing in this space and I so recommend in this report.

I am not pressing the panic button in this report; that would serve the purposes of those who would undermine the trust in our democratic processes. But I am ringing the alarm bell. If Government does not act swiftly to gear up to counter these threats, there is a real risk they will run away from us. Recent allegations of attempted foreign interference in the electoral process in Moldova and Romania should serve as cautionary tales. It is a truism, but one apt for our times: the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.