Labour minister denies No10 attack on Nigel Farage after PM's cryptocurrency crackdown

The move has drawn criticism over the policies being aimed "squarely at Reform UK" due to Mr Farage's party receiving around £12million from Thai-based British investor Christopher Harborne, the Electoral Commission confirmed.

Speaking on GB News, deputy leader Richard Tice ripped into the clampdown, claiming No10 was attempting to hinder the "incredible progress" of Reform.

However, Mr Reed insisted the policies were "absolutely not" designed to impact Reform UK's donations.

The Local Government Secretary told GB News: "What we're trying to do is make sure that British elections and British democracy remain safe from interference by hostile foreign states who want to influence who becomes the Government of this country to benefit themselves."

Mr Reed explained he had appointed a politically neutral, fully impartial former senior civil servant, Philip Rycroft, to conduct a review into whether current safeguards are "robust enough to withstand growing threats from dark money being funnelled in to try and influence politics".

Today, Mr Rycroft published a report which outlined 17 recommendations, two of which the Labour Government are implementing to apply retrospectively from today.

The Labour minister added: "The reason is that they relate to a cryptocurrency being used to provide excessively huge donations to political parties."

"So it will be retrospective assuming the legislation is passed... We don't expect it to come into force until 2027, but it would be retrospective and retrospectively starting today, in order that there's not a window where Russia or China or whoever could find out," he said.

Mr Reed argued without the legislation being enforced retrospectively, the UK would be left susceptible to possible circumvention of future legislation.

He added the political funding legislation was "about looking at future threats to our democracy".

Given any individual party could receive donations through cryptocurrency, he said: "Ultimately, it would affect and influence all of our political parties."

Cryptocurrency, unlike British banking or British business, is untraceable, which does not allow recipients to determine where the money originates.

Mr Reed explained: "So if you're sitting in the Kremlin, if you're sitting in Beijing and you want to funnel millions of pounds into the UK to influence elections, you'll use cryptocurrency to do that because that's the best way to anonymously make your donations.

"So what we're doing is to protect the integrity of British elections. So it is only British people who will choose who the Government will be.

"I know Reform aren't accepting this today, but it will benefit Reform because it safeguards them just like it's safe. It's the Labour Party and everyone else from being used as a foil for dark money."

The senior minister went on to clarify that the legislation was not a total ban on crypto, but a moratorium instead.

The Rycroft report has set out that the moratorium is a "ban with a plan", designing the necessary regulatory structures and enforcement capacity to deal with risks over time.

"Until we have the safeguards in place and the Electoral Commission can safely determine where their money has originated from, and it will be for Parliament to determine that at some point in the future, it's a moratorium," Mr Reed added.

"We cannot allow nobody surely, would want the Kremlin to be funneling millions of pounds into UK elections to influence the outcome. And that's not to say that they would only funnel it through one party. They could funnel it through any party."

Echoing Mr Reed's sentiment on GB News, Sir Keir previously claimed illicit funding endangered British democracy, telling MPs earlier today: "We will act decisively to protect our democracy."

"That will include a moratorium on all political donations made through cryptocurrencies," he told lawmakers at the weekly rendition of Prime Minister's Questions.

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter