Reform backer Arron Banks urged to set out extent of surveillance of journalists

Arron Banks, pictured in 2018, is reported to have previously hired operatives to surveil political opponents. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

The businessman and Reform UK backer Arron Banks is facing calls to lay out the extent of his surveillance of journalists, described by an industry body as an “attack on our democracy”.

The News Media Association (NMA), which represents regional and national media, raised concerns after Banks appeared to admit over the weekend to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist.