Reform UK Receives Second £36m Donation in Two Days, Matching Record Gift

Reform UK has received a second donation of £36m in as many days, according to the BBC, after businessman Christopher Harborne said he had matched a gift of the same amount from crypto investor Ben Delo.

The BBC reported that Delo's earlier donation was already described as the single largest gift ever made to a UK political party. Harborne's contribution, if confirmed, would mean two donations of identical record-breaking size were made to the party within 48 hours.

Details of the exact timing and purpose of the donations were not fully specified in the report. The BBC said Harborne made the announcement himself, but did not provide further comment from Reform UK or from the Electoral Commission, which oversees the reporting of political donations in the UK.

Under UK electoral law, political parties are required to declare large donations to the Electoral Commission, which publishes details of donations above a certain threshold. It was not immediately clear from the report whether the donations had been formally registered.

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has in recent years attracted significant financial backing from wealthy individual donors. The scale of the reported donations from Harborne and Delo would mark a substantial increase in the party's declared funding.

The BBC did not report further details on Harborne's business background beyond identifying him as a businessman, or provide additional context on Delo's crypto investment activities at the time of the donation.