Pro-Brexit group misused UK citizens’ data – claim
The misuse of UK citizens’ personal data was “rife” between Brexit campaign group Leave. EU and other businesses owned by its founder Arron Banks, according to a former Cambridge Analytica employee who worked with Leave.EU, Ukip and Mr Banks’ company Eldon Insurance before the referendum.
Brittany Kaiser, who left Cambridge Analytica (CA) in March after four years, told MPs she believed Leave.EU had combined data from Ukip members, Eldon Insurance and GoSkippy Insurance customers, as well as Leave. EU data, for analysis by a US university and the targeting of political messages around the EU referendum.
In written evidence provided to the parliamentary fake news inquiry, Ms Kaiser said: “In hindsight, I now think that there is reason to believe that misuse of data was rife amongst the businesses and campaigns of Arron Banks.
“If the personal data of UK citizens who just wanted to buy car insurance was used by GoSkippy and Eldon Insurance for political purposes, as may have been the case, people clearly did not opt in for their data to be used in this way by Leave.EU. I have similar concerns about whether Ukip members consented to the use of their data.”
Andy Wigmore, Leave.EU’s communications director, called Ms Kaiser’s statements a “litany of lies” which she invented “to fit the antiBrexit narrative”.
Appearing before the Select Committee for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Ms Kaiser said she had delivered “parallel pitches” for Leave.EU, Ukip and Eldon Insurance in October 2015 to “find the different personality types of individuals most likely to engage with political messaging”.
Based on this work, Ms Kaiser said she advised Leave.EU teams on “crafting communications campaigns” in November 2015.
Mr Banks asked CA to “design a strategy” for combining the work for all three organisations, she said, but the submitted proposal was never carried out.
She added: “We were never contracted to do this piece of work, although from other evidence given by other individuals... I do believe that this work was carried out, just not by Cambridge Analytica.”
Neither Ukip nor Leave.EU paid the invoice for the initial work, she said. Instead, Ms Kaiser said Leave.EU executives created “their own Cambridge Analytica” based on the proposals she submitted.