Reform’s ‘spoiler’ tactic raises concern among Telegraph journalists
Reform UK’s repeated use of “spoiler” briefings shows how political parties can exploit journalists’ requests for comment to shape how difficult disclosures first reach voters.
🔍 WHY THIS STORY MATTERS
Reform UK’s “spoiler” tactic exposes a vulnerability in political journalism: asking a party for comment can give it an opportunity to pre-empt scrutiny and influence how a disclosure is first presented.
KEY TAKEAWAYS...
● Reform has repeatedly given information to the Daily Telegraph after rival newspapers approached it for comment.
● The latest case concerned Ben Delo’s £36m donation to Reform UK.
● The tactic has caused significant unease among some Telegraph journalists.
R eform UK has repeatedly responded to potentially damaging media inquiries by giving information to the Daily Telegraph before the newspapers investigating the issue could publish, according to reporting by The Guardian.
The practice, known in journalism as a “spoiler”, has caused “significant unease” among some Telegraph journalists, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. The concern comes amid scrutiny of Reform’s finances after cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne each pledged £36m to the party.
In the latest case, Reform supplied information about Delo’s £36m donation to the Telegraph after the Sunday Times approached the party for comment about it.
Ben Riley-Smith, political editor of the Sunday Times, criticised the tactic, warning that it could undermine the normal process through which journalists put questions to the subjects of investigations before publication.
Evidence suggests a repeated pattern.
In April, The Guardian approached Nigel Farage and Harborne about a previously undisclosed £5m personal gift from Harborne to the Reform leader. Farage and Harborne’s lawyers asked for more time to respond. Before the extended deadline expired, the Telegraph published an interview in which Farage disclosed the payment and explained it principally in the context of his security costs.
Farage subsequently described the payment as an unconditional “reward” for his 27 years campaigning for Brexit. The gift is now part of a parliamentary standards investigation. Farage has denied wrongdoing.
A further example emerged in July. Guardian journalists had been investigating donations and loans involving Reform deputy leader Richard Tice and his company when related information appeared first in the Telegraph. By then, The Guardian was describing the practice as Reform’s “Fleet Street spoilers” strategy.
The controversy matters because seeking comment before publication is an important safeguard in journalism. It gives people and organisations an opportunity to challenge allegations, correct errors and provide their account. However, passing details of an unpublished investigation to another newspaper can allow the subject to influence which account reaches the public first.
There is no evidence, however, that the Telegraph knowingly participated in Reform’s strategy in the latest case. The Guardian reported that its journalists did not know another newspaper had already approached Reform. Nor does the tactic establish that the Telegraph reports were false or that Reform broke the law.
What the documented chronology demonstrates is a political communications strategy aimed at getting ahead of difficult disclosures and influencing their initial framing before competing investigations are published.
🔮 WHAT MATTERS NEXT...
🎯 WHAT TO WATCH NEXT:
● Whether newspapers change how much time they give Reform to answer sensitive pre-publication questions.
● Whether further investigations reveal additional examples of information being supplied to another outlet after Reform receives questions.
● Whether concern within the Telegraph changes how the newspaper handles future Reform briefings.
● Whether continuing scrutiny of Reform’s donors and finances produces further disclosures that test the party’s media strategy.
🎯 MOST LIKELY OUTCOME:
● Journalists investigating Reform are likely to become more cautious about how and when they submit detailed questions if they believe those inquiries could be used to pre-empt their reporting.
🎯 WHAT COULD CHANGE THE PICTURE:
● Evidence that the Telegraph knowingly participated in a spoiler arrangement, or evidence contradicting the reported chronology, would materially change the assessment. Neither is currently established.
🎯 WHY THIS MATTERS:
● The dispute shows how political media management can affect not only what information reaches voters, but which version of that information reaches them first.
GOING FURTHER
‘Significant unease’ at the Telegraph over Reform using outlet for ‘spoiler’ tactics | THE GUARDIAN
Reform UK given record £36m donation by British crypto billionaire | THE GUARDIAN
Christopher Harborne matches £36m Reform donation of Ben Delo | THE GUARDIAN
Exclusive: Nigel Farage was given undisclosed £5m by crypto billionaire in 2024 | THE GUARDIAN
Nigel Farage referred to standards watchdog over undisclosed £5m gift | THE GUARDIAN
Reform’s Fleet Street ‘spoilers’: tactic party deploys to get ahead of stories | THE GUARDIAN
More Reform UK transactions worth millions reported to National Crime Agency | THE GUARDIAN
Reform UK receives two record £36mn donations | FINANCIAL TIMES
Sources:
▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY on 17 September 2026.
▪ Cover: Dreamstime/KORWEN.
