Labour deputy says Farage is a threat to democracy and calls for misinformation clampdown

Lucy Powell said: ‘The spread of mis- and disinformation is a real and present danger to our democracy.’ Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

Reform UK is destabilising British democracy by spreading divisive material that is being amplified by bots and troll farms, Labour’s deputy leader has said.

Lucy Powell called for tighter laws on social media giants to tackle misinformation, arguing the online space was “open to wealthy individuals, and bad state actors”.