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Nigel Farage and Richard Tice are suing the National Crime Agency (NCA) amid claims it leaked confidential financial details, it has been reported.
Tice, who is MP for Boston and Skegness as well as Reform's deputy leader, alleges NCA leaked "individual bank statements, bank transfers, details of conversations with bank managers from different banks".
Speaking to Talk TV, Tice says that he and Farage believe the NCA carried out "multiple criminal offences" and they plan to secure and apology, as well as damages.
Tice has previously written to the NCA to determine whether any of its staff were behind the leaks of private financial information to the press.
It follows press reports over long-time aide George Cottrell’s funding for the Reform operation, including alleged payments for staffing, security and housing. Cottrell was previously jailed for eight months in 2017 over fraud offences.
Headlines emerged last month over payments Cottrell’s mother made to Tice’s company Britain Means Business, which were reportedly flagged to the NCA in its suspicious activity reports (SARs) programme, BBC News reports.
SARS are not crime reports, although they do alert law enforcement to potential instances of money laundering.
Reform insists that no party officials were ever interviewed by the police and Tice says the allegations were part of a "politically motivated smear campaign".
Tice added he was only made aware of the issue when he was approached by the Guardian newspaper, while the NCA says it has launched an internal inquiry.
A spokesman for the NCA said: "Following complaints brought by Richard Tice MP and Nigel Farage, the NCA's Professional Standards Unit is conducting an investigation. That work is ongoing. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."
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