Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has received a record £9m donation from Christopher Harborne, a prominent cryptocurrency investor, according to new Electoral Commission figures. The party also received £50,000 from Claudia Rothermere, wife of Daily Mail owner Jonathan Rothermere, and hundreds of thousands from other former Conservative donors.
Harborne, who has interests in defence and aviation fuel, previously donated over £10m to Farage's Brexit Party in 2019 and gave £1m to Boris Johnson's office after he left Downing Street. He also accompanied Johnson on a trip to Ukraine and funded Farage's attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration.
The size of the donation has prompted campaign groups including Spotlight on Corruption and Transparency International to renew calls for a cap on political donations. Rose Zussman of Transparency International UK said the 'record-breaking donation shows how dependent our political parties have become on a super-rich few'.
The Electoral Commission's quarterly data revealed Reform raised over £10m in total, compared with nearly £7m for the Conservatives and around £2.5m for Labour. Jackie Killeen, the commission's director of regulation, noted that while the system offers transparency, 'parts of the system need strengthening' and welcomed proposed government reforms.
Harborne, who lived in Thailand for 20 years and operates under the Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit, holds stakes in defence firm Qinetiq and aviation fuel producer AML Global. He was also a backer of the cryptocurrency Tether, which has been linked to illicit activity by the National Crime Agency, though there is no suggestion of his involvement.
