Arron Banks hired private investigators to look into a Sunday Times journalist who had reported on Nigel Farage's finances, the New Statesman revealed, five days before the Clacton by-election in which Farage is seeking to return to the Commons; the disclosure came as the TUC demanded that the new chancellor, John Healey, order a "root and branch" review of the Office for Budget Responsibility before his first Budget, the Guardian reported that the US embassy in London is offering grants criticised as interference in British politics, and Nicola Sturgeon said she had stopped speaking to her jailed estranged husband. This is UKFCP's Saturday 24 hours in politics round-up.
The day fell in the fifth week of Andy Burnham's premiership. He took office on Monday 20 July 2026 as the country's seventh prime minister in 10 years, appointing Healey to the Treasury in a move widely described as unexpected. Two fixed points now dominate the political diary: the Clacton by-election on Thursday 13 August, and Healey's first Budget on Wednesday 28 October.
Banks put private investigators on a Sunday Times reporter
The New Statesman reported that Arron Banks, the Brexit campaigner and prominent Reform UK member, hired private investigators to look into the Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund after his reporting on Nigel Farage's finances.
Banks directed investigators from Precision Risk and Intelligence, a firm he previously owned and which has since been dissolved. He did not deny launching the probe.
"We believe the Sunday Times used hacked information and that was an area of interest. We do have an investigative arm that's got advanced capabilities."
Pogrund is believed to have been targeted after a Sunday Times story last month revealed that Farage had received financial support from the convicted criminal George Cottrell, known as "Posh George".
The Sunday Times denied that its stories were based on illegally sourced information and called the hiring of private investigators "reprehensible". A spokesperson said: "This story was not based on hacked information."
The Guardian followed up the story on Saturday morning. Banks told the paper he had not discussed the matter with anyone at Reform UK and would not do so. Asked whether he had targeted the reporter, he said: "When you live by the sword, you die by the sword." He also posted on X that "the Sunday Times hit job on Nigel was coordinated & deliberate, not good journalism".
Farage announced on 7 July that he would vacate his Clacton seat to trigger a by-election and re-contest it, amid parliamentary scrutiny of his personal finances and allegations concerning undeclared gifts and support. He has not been an MP since 8 July.
TUC calls for a 'root and branch' review of the OBR
The TUC is urging Healey to order a "root and branch" review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, according to the Guardian, which reported the demand early on Saturday.
The union body accuses the forecaster of downplaying the benefits of public investment by assuming it "crowds out" private capital — an approach disputed by some economists — and argues the OBR's method holds back growth. It wants Healey to use his first Budget, on 28 October, to re-examine the watchdog's assessments.
Paul Nowak, the TUC's general secretary, said: "For too long, the OBR has been a millstone preventing good growth across the country."
Burnham has promised "good growth in every postcode". The Treasury did not issue a response within the day.
US embassy grants criticised as interference in British politics
The US embassy in London is offering grants of up to half a million dollars for new "public education" programmes, in what critics have described as interference in British domestic politics, the Guardian reported on Saturday.
A funding notice published on the embassy's website identifies a goal of fostering a "national conversation" about the "shared civilizational values" underpinning US–UK ties, with priority given to applicants celebrating "freedom of speech" and "limited government".
The grants appear to be separate from $12m the US state department plans to allocate to UK organisations founded by the Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young. One source told the Guardian: "to specifically fund topics related to a narrow vision of America First is highly unusual."
The notice states that the funding is not intended to support partisan political activity or lobbying. A US embassy spokesperson said the initiative aimed to strengthen US–UK ties "and deepen public understanding of the constitutional principles, rule of law, and democratic norms that underpin both nations".
Polling finds 74% of Britons concerned about climate change
Ipsos polling shared with PoliticsHome found that three in four Britons — 74% — report being concerned about climate change today, against 69% who recall being concerned before this summer. The share who are not concerned has fallen from 28% to 24%.
Nearly nine in 10 respondents, 87%, said they thought it likely Britain would experience similar severe heatwaves in future summers, and 56% said extreme summer weather had disrupted normal daily activities such as working, exercising or sleeping.
Ipsos interviewed 1,085 British adults aged 16 to 75 online across Great Britain between 31 July and 4 August. The July Ipsos Issues Index still showed immigration as the top issue facing Britain, with the economy second.
Sturgeon says she has stopped speaking to Murrell
Nicola Sturgeon has said she will not visit her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, in prison and has stopped speaking to him, the Guardian reported on Saturday afternoon. Scotland's former first minister said she viewed herself as a "mug" for worrying about him. Murrell is serving a five-year sentence for embezzling SNP funds.
Also on Saturday
- Clacton, five days out. Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Restore Britain all chose not to contest the by-election, leaving the novelty candidate Count Binface as Farage's main challenger. The field of 34 candidates broke the record set in 2008. An Ipsos survey of British adults on 11 July asked who they would prefer to win: 33% said Count Binface, 21% Farage, 32% neither and 13% did not know. It was a Britain-wide attitudes question, not a Clacton voting-intention poll.
- Northern Ireland. The Guardian published a long-form reconstruction of the Belfast race riots that followed a knife attack on 8 June, examining the role of loyalist groups and fears that the violence could recur.
- Media and politics. Al Jazeera broadcast a segment on influencers challenging Farage, saying the UK media has been accused of giving him an easy ride. The characterisation is the broadcaster's own.
- Health. Pharmacies estimate that about 3,400 tonnes of partially used medicines were thrown away in England in a single year, according to Sky News.
- Weather. New heat-health alerts came into force as the UK braced for its fifth heatwave of the year, with possible highs of 36C, Sky News reported.
- Remembrance. Nearly 10,000 Punjabi soldiers who died in the First World War have been added to casualty records for the first time, the New York Times reported.
The next fixed point is Thursday 13 August, when polls in Clacton open at 7am and close at 10pm and voters choose their next MP.