Reform donor reportedly gave undisclosed £5m gift to Nigel Farage

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Reform is engulfed in a fresh funding row after it was reported that Nigel Farage accepted a £5m gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire before becoming an MP. Christoper Harborne gave the money to Farage in early 2024, weeks before the Reform leader announced his plan to stand in the general election. Farage claims it was for his personal security, but the sum has renewed calls for caps on individual political donations. The Conservatives have referred Farage to parliament’s standards watchdog for failing to declare the funds. Harborne has given more than £22m to Reform in the past seven years, accounting for two-thirds of its funding and making the party almost entirely reliant on a single donor. The £9m he gave last year was the biggest UK political donation by a living person in history.

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