A senior Tory MP has called for an investigation into Reform’s Doge programme, which he describes as a “cybersecurity disaster waiting to happen”.

Kevin Hollinrake, the Shadow Minister for Local Government, has written to the Information Commissioner’s (IC’s) office urging them to open a formal case into what he alleges are serious breaches of data protection law by the party, which is now in control of Kent County Council (KCC).

In a detailed letter, Hollinrake outlines concerns that Reform’s so-called ‘Doge’ (Department of Government Efficiency) initiative involves efforts to obtain highly sensitive personal information without a lawful basis.

It comes after the party announced last week it was sending in a team of “software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors” to conduct a review of KCC.

Reform said they would be working for free, but were “bound by data protection obligations and professional standards”.

It is the first local authority where the party is rolling out its Doge plans, after it won control of 10 local authorities in May.

A letter to KCC staff - signed by new council leader Cllr Linden Kemkaran, Reform leader Nigel Farage and chairman Zia Yusuf - explained Doge would be looking at council documents; finance, procurement and audit data; and internal investigations into financial matters.

But while an elected councillor may have limited access to some council-held data, Hollinrake argues that “their political party has no such right” and that “it is explicit that the letter is from Reform UK Ltd, not from a councillor acting as a member of the authority.”

The scope of the data requested, he says, goes far beyond the bounds of transparency expected in public service.

“The letter demands ‘all information available under the Local Government Act 1972’, which would include information exempted from publication, often referred to as ‘pink papers’,” Hollinrake states.

Such material typically includes confidential items relating to payments to foster parents, care home funding, and even payroll details of council staff.

He also raises alarm over the potential release of “council tax and business rates data, including the names and addresses of individual taxpayers,” and “whistleblowing reports” that could contain the identities of protected individuals.

“There is no clear legal basis for such personal information to be shared with Reform UK Ltd or any third party,” he writes.

Particularly troubling, he adds, is Reform’s assertion that a group of unnamed “software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors” will “conduct this reform on our behalf,” implying that data would be handled by third parties outside council control.

Read more: The KCC Insider lifts the lid on life in County Hall since Reform took over

Read more: ‘Doge might be clever politics in the short term…but it’s really a load of tripe’

“There is no evidence that such a data controller is registered with the IC,” he says, adding that no data-sharing agreement or data protection impact assessment appears to exist.

Hollinrake also highlights the involvement of Aaron Banks, a close Reform ally and former Leave.EU figure who was fined by the IC in 2019 over the unlawful use of personal data.

“This does not provide reassurance of high standards of conduct over the handling of personal data,” Hollinrake remarks.

He draws parallels with the controversial US Department of Government Efficiency programme - also nicknamed DOGE - which he says became notorious for sweeping data grabs and punitive action against whistleblowers.

Reform’s letter to KCC staff warned that “any obstruction will be considered gross misconduct,” a line Hollinrake calls “a chilling echo” of tactics used abroad to suppress internal dissent.

The MP goes on to demand urgent action: “There is a strong public interest in the Information Commissioner taking proactive steps to investigate and, if necessary, issue enforcement notices.”

However, Reform’s head of Doge, Mr Yusuf, has hit back.

The political campaigner, who sensationally left Reform last week before announcing his return 48 hours later, claimed the Conservatives “were desperate to cover up the corruption and waste of their now deposed local government regimes”.

He added: “It will not work. Just as they plundered hundreds of millions from the British taxpayers during Covid, they have done the same at councils.

“Reform councillors were voted in to expose it, and with the help of Reform’s Doge team, they will do just that.”

A Reform UK spokesman said: "Reform’s DOGE team and elected officials are determined and will not be deterred by misleading political point scoring from the Tories. We were elected to fight for taxpayers who the Conservatives took for mugs for the past 14 years.

“The DOGE team will work collaboratively with Kent County Council to ensure checks, balances and robust data sharing and confidentiality agreements are in place to a level which is satisfactory to the council. This arrangement is no different from if the council employed any third-party contractor.

“This work will not cost local taxpayers a single penny and will ensure that public money is spent solely on activity that benefits local residents.”

An ICO spokesperson added: “We have received Kevin Hollinrake MP’s letter regarding The Reform Party and are assessing the information.”