How far must UK go to fend off threat of foreign interference in its elections?

Closing funding loopholes and re-empowering the watchdog would go some way to tackling an urgent issue

• UK to hold inquiry into foreign financial interference in domestic politics

Russia has been attempting to meddle with western democracy for years, but successive governments led by Boris Johnson and others have insisted that the UK’s electoral system can withstand its influence.

That argument was recently blown apart by the conviction of former Reform politician Nathan Gill, jailed for 10 years for accepting bribes to advance Russian arguments.