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”. He said: “Using private investigators to try to deter journalists from making legitimate inquiries about public figures is an attack on our democracy. In response to inquiries, Banks told the magazine: “We believe the Sunday Times used hacked information and that was an area of interest. Jemimah Steinfeld, the chief executive of Index on Censorship, said Banks should be open and transparent about the extent of his surveillance of journalists. Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrats’ Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Hiring private investigators to target journalists who are simply doing their jobs is a desperate attempt to dodge accountability.