Reform's £72m donations 'entirely in line with law', Jenrick says
Richard Wheeler, Political reporter at PA Media, reports:
Robert Jenrick has stated that Reform UK believes £72m in donations from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne are "entirely in line with the law".
The party's economic spokesman explained to the BBC that he does not anticipate any need to return the funds, noting that Delo has even returned to the UK to comply with upcoming changes to donation laws.
Jenrick further asserted:
- "One of these two donors, Ben Delo, has actually returned to the UK, in part so that he can comply with the changes to the law."
- "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, nothing would surprise me. But, as it stands, we believe these are entirely in line with the law."
He emphasized that the donors, who each contributed £36m within two days, were "not buying anything, they simply support our agenda".
Delo and Harborne's donations now hold the record for the largest ever given to a UK political party.
The government proposes limiting British expat donations to £100,000, backdated to 25 March, as part of wider reforms to the law on political party funding.