Published Updated

Britain03 September, 20263 min read

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Receives £72m From Crypto Billionaires as Police Probe Donations

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Ben Delo donated £36 million to Reform UK, record single political donation in UK history Christopher Harborne matched Delo's £36 million, bringing total to £72 million in 48 hours

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Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Receives £72m From Crypto Billionaires as Police Probe Donations
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£72m in two days

Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, received 72 million pounds ($97 million) from two cryptocurrency billionaires this weekend, after Ben Delo gave 36 million pounds ($48 million) and Christopher Harborne announced he was matching the donation. Harborne said he was backing Reform UK because he believes its policies will attract the investment Britain needs to bolster the economy and generate the revenue needed to fund healthcare, education and other public services, while Reform said the £72m would be used to hire "the brightest and best minds to work on policy and the most comprehensive plan for government ever".

The donations come as London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation into whether Reform accepted illegal foreign donations, and the BBC reported that the party is facing scrutiny over its finances as the government seeks to cap donations to UK political parties from British expats. In the same reporting, the BBC said Delo wrote in the Daily Telegraph that he wanted a "fair fight and a level playing field," and it also said Reform leader Nigel Farage welcomed the gift as he was "honoured and humbled" by the donation.

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Opposition and police probes

Liberal Democrats called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to cap donations and protect British democracy, with Lisa Smart saying, “Nigel Farage wants to bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power,” and adding, “He’s trying to get into Number 10 as if it’s a stop on a monopoly board.” Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice denied accusations the donations were bad for democracy on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, saying, "It's the opposite actually, we're delighted and very humbled by the confidence expressed by two very successful entrepreneurs".

The BBC also reported that Farage is under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5m cash gift from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election, and it said the Metropolitan Police is investigating whether payments to Reform in the weeks before the last election complied with donation laws. In parallel, the BBC said the government is seeking to change the law on donations to UK political parties from British expats, including a £100,000 cap backdated to 25 March, and it reported that Labour previously introduced a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living abroad.

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Law changes and what’s next

Robert Jenrick told the BBC that Reform UK believed the £72m in donations it has received from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne were "entirely in line with the law," and he said he did not expect the party would have to return any of the money. Jenrick also said it might be that Housing Secretary Angela Rayner or the government keep trying to change the law to make it even harder for people to donate to Reform, while Rayner told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the rule changes would apply retrospectively and anyone not complying with them would have "to return that money".

The BBC reported that the government’s proposed changes were added to the Representation of the People Bill after they were approved by MPs this month, and it said the bill still needs to be scrutinised in the House of Lords. Meanwhile, the BBC said a Reform UK spokesman stated, "We are 100% confident both [donations] are legal and won't ever have to handed back," as the government seeks to cap donations from British expats and introduce a minimum residency period for those who move back to the UK.

Reporting for this sectionBBC