Reform receives second £36m donation in two days as crypto investor matches record

Reform UK has received a second £36m donation in as many days, as cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne says he has matched a record-breaking donation announced late on Friday.

Harborne wrote in the Telegraph , external that his "competitive spirit" had inspired him to equal Ben Delo's donation - the largest ever given to a UK political party.

The Thailand-based entrepreneur said he expected "nothing personally" in return aside from "a party that is ready for government".

The £72m from these two donations is more than the total received by all UK political parties last year.

Harborne has already donated millions to Reform and its leader Nigel Farage.

Farage is currently under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5m cash gift from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election.

Farage has argued that he was under no obligation to register the "purely private" gift, as it was unrelated to his parliamentary or political activities.

The party is also facing scrutiny over its finances after a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week showed two senior Reform aides apparently suggesting a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations.