Crypto-billionaires want 'nothing' for £72m - Reform

Reform UK has insisted its two crypto-billionaire donors want "nothing" in exchange for their combined £72 million gifts to the party.

Neither Christopher Harborne nor Ben Delo will be given a knighthood, a peerage or a government contract if Reform comes to power, the party said, after receiving the two gifts in the space of 24 hours.

The donations, amounting to £36 million from each man, are the largest in British political history and together are equivalent to three-quarters of the money spent at the 2024 general election by all parties combined.

Thailand-based Mr Harborne, Reform’s largest donor, said his gift was "a philanthropic gift to our country" intended to help the party prepare for government.

As well as donating to the party, Mr Harborne has given £5 million to Nigel Farage personally, with the Reform leader’s failure to declare the gift leading to an investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

Pardoned by Donal Trump

Mr Delo, who was pardoned last year by Donald Trump after a conviction for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act, said his donation was intended to create a "level playing field" for Reform with the other parties.

The party has denied that the men will receive anything in return for their donations, tweeting: "Our donors want nothing and will never be given a peerage, knighthood or a government contract."