Online membership vote in leadership contest will be secure, says Tory chairman
Sir Jake Berry said ‘all efforts would be made’ to reach members who did not have access to the internet.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Tory party chairman has insisted the online membership vote to choose a new leader and the next prime minister will be “secure”, just months after the process was revamped over hacking concerns.
Speaking outside Parliament, Sir Jake Berry declined to give details on the safeguards in place but said he was “satisfied” there would not be any cyber security issues in the contest to replace Liz Truss.
Questioned on safety concerns over the binding online vote, Sir Jake said: “Without going into the security measures we will take… we are satisfied that the online voting system will be secure.”
He added that “all efforts would be made” to reach members who did not have access to the internet.
In the previous Tory leadership race, party members were initially told they could vote by post and amend their decision online until the system was reformed in early August.
The National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ, warned that the process was vulnerable to interference, forcing the party to delay sending out ballot slips.
Those opting to cast their vote online had to submit a single-use code and answer security questions.
Sir Jake confirmed that a membership vote would not take place if only one candidate had reached the nomination threshold of 100 MPs by Monday.