Tories call for investigation over 'gravely concerning' claims of Russian interference in the general election - with Moscow 'boosting Nigel Farage's Reform'

The Tories are demanding an investigation over 'gravely concerning' allegations of Russian interference in the general election campaign, it has been revealed.

Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, has responded to claims that five co-ordinated Facebook pages have been spouting Kremlin talking points.

Some have posted in support of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, according to the  Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Commenting on the investigation, Mr Dowden told the Sunday Times: 'These revelations reveal the real risk our democracy faces in this uncertain world.

'Malign foreign actors, promoting British political parties, policies and views that fit their agenda is just another example of the challenges in the increasingly volatile cyberspace of the 21st century and is gravely concerning to see during an election campaign.'

The newspaper also reported that Conservative chairman Richard Holden has written to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, and Sir Tim Barrow, the national security adviser, asking for the claims to be investigated.

There is no suggestion that Mr Farage or anyone from Reform were aware of the  activities of the Facebook pages.

Speaking this morning to Sky News, Mr Dowden said the ABC investigation had exposed a 'classic example from the Russian playbook'.

He said: 'There is a threat in all elections, and indeed we see it in this election from hostile state actors seeking to influence the outcome of the election campaign.

'Russia is a prime example of this, and this is a classic example from the Russian playbook.

'What I would say is this is relatively typical, low-level stuff, but we stood up the election cell in the Cabinet Office, we did that at the very beginning of the campaign, and it was designed to look into exactly this sort of thing.

'It should just be a salutary reminder for all of us, when you engage on social media, are these people that you think are posting stuff, are they real or are they bots generated by hostile state actors? It's something we all need to be aware of.'

According to ABC, the Facebook pages appeared to have little in common but were linked through an examination of the location data attached to the pages' administrators, the tracking of paid ads, and an analysis of the pages' similar or shared content.

The network of pages has a combined 190,000 followers, each featuring criticism of several UK political parties, including the Conservatives and Labour, the broadcaster said.

The investigation also reportedly found most of the administrators for each page are based in Nigeria, which is a significant connection as previous online Russian propaganda networks were found to have been operating from Africa.

Disinformation experts told ABC the network's activity had the hallmarks of a Russian influence operation.

'For me, it's Russian,' said Salvatore Romano, head of research at AI Forensics.

'Now if you ask Putin, Putin may say 'no, it's not us'. What is the smoking gun? Do you need to see these people behind their desks with the Russian flag?'

But Mr Farage last night used social media to hit back at Mr Dowden, as he pointed to the Tories' acceptance of cash from Russian-linked donors in recent years.

He posted on X: 'The Tory party now sink even deeper into lies and dishonesty.

'They have taken hundreds of thousands from Russians in the last couple of years. Dowden deserves to lose his seat for this hypocrisy.'

Mr Farage recently faced a backlash over comments about Vladimir Putin's regime.

He claimed that NATO and the EU 'provoked' Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while saying he 'admired' Mr Putin as a 'political operator'.

The Reform leader has now been engulfed in a racism row following the publication of secret recordings of members of his local campaign.

Campaigners for Mr Farage's party in the Clacton seat in Essex he hopes to win were recorded by an undercover journalist from Channel 4 making racist comments, including about the Prime Minister, who is of Indian descent.

The footage showed Reform campaigner Andrew Parker using a racist term about Rishi Sunak and suggesting migrants should be used as 'target practice'.

Another canvasser described the Pride flag as 'degenerate' and suggested members of the LGBT community are paedophiles.

Reform has written to the Electoral Commission, claiming that Mr Parker, an actor, was a 'plant' in the Channel 4 News item.

Mr Farage said the Clacton expose was 'a political set-up of astonishing proportions', highlighting Mr Parker's background as an actor.

He added he was 'not going to apologise' as what had happened was a 'set-up, a deliberate attempt to smear us'.

Meanwhile, Reform has confirmed it has dropped support for candidates Leslie Lilley in Southend East and Rochford, Edward Oakenfull in Derbyshire Dales, and Robert Lomas in Barnsley North.

On BBC Question Time, Mr Farage was challenged about the three's comments and said, 'In most cases, they've been disowned.'

The three will still appear as Reform candidates on the ballot paper because nominations for the July 4 poll have closed.