英国商人、Reform UK 捐助人 Arron Banks 因雇佣私家侦探监视记者而引发广泛批评[1]。Banks 承认曾指示 Precision Risk and Intelligence 公司调查《星期日泰晤士报》编辑 Gabriel Pogrund，声称此举是为了调查该报使用的信息来源[1]。
新闻媒体协会、言论审查指数及英国政界人士纷纷谴责这一行为。新闻媒体协会首席执行官 Theo Bamber 表示，"使用私家侦探阻止记者对公众人物进行合法调查是对民主的攻击"[1]。言论审查指数首席执行官 Jemimah Steinfeld 对此感到担忧，称"我真的希望这不会发生在其他记者身上，但我担心它会，因为 Gabriel 并非唯一对 Reform 提出正确质疑的人"[1]。前保守党文化、媒体和体育大臣 Nicky Morgan 也指出这种做法"与开放民主制度不相容"[1]。
在脱欧前夕，Banks 曾雇佣自称"前军情五处和特种空勤团"成员的特工监视政治对手[1]。
British businessman and Reform UK donor Arron Banks has come under fire for allegedly hiring private investigators to monitor journalists. [1] Banks has admitted instructing the firm Precision Risk and Intelligence to investigate Gabriel Pogrund, an editor at The Sunday Times, claiming he sought to examine the newspaper's sources. [1]
The practice has drawn sharp condemnation from media freedom advocates and political figures. Theo Bamber, chief executive of the News Media Association, stated that "using private investigators to try to deter journalists from making legitimate inquiries about public figures is an attack on our democracy." [1] Jemimah Steinfeld, chief executive of the Index on Censorship, expressed concern about the scope of such surveillance, saying "I really, really hope that it's not happening to other journalists. But my fear is that it will be, because Gabriel is not the only one who's asking the right questions about Reform." [1] Nicky Morgan, a former Conservative culture, media and sport secretary, characterized such intrusions as "not compatible with an open democracy." [1]
Prior to the Brexit referendum, Banks employed operatives claiming to be "ex-MI5 and SAS" to surveil political rivals. [1]