Reform UK has received a £36 million donation from a crypto billionaire who gave Nigel Farage a controversial £5m gift.

Christopher Harborne’s donation comes just hours after another crypto billionaire, Ben Delo, gave the party the same amount.

Thailand-based Harborne also gave Reform £9 million last August.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Harborne said the donation was “a philanthropic gift to our country” intended to help Reform prepare for government.

He said: “Whilst I have been making donations to Reform of around £1 million a month, Ben Delo told me he was going to make a record donation of £36 million.

“My competitive spirit inspired me to match it, so that is what I’ve done. And I hope others may join us.”

Farage said: “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have shown such confidence in Reform.

“Both men know that we are the only party that can turn the country around and win the next General Election – thanks to their generosity, we are now able to fight that election on a level playing field.”

The donation means Mr Harborne retains his position as Reform’s largest donor, having already given £9 million to the party last August.

The £5 million gift from Harborne to Farage is at the centre of an investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog after the Reform leader failed to declare it in his register of interests.

In his Telegraph article announcing the donation, the billionaire said the UK needed a “profitable and dynamic economy” to be able to address the three “existential threats” of nuclear war, AI and climate change.

His donation comes a day after it was reported Delo had given £36 million to the party, saying it would ensure a “level playing field” between Reform and its opponents.

Delo, who moved back to the UK from Hong Kong in order to avoid a proposed cap on donations from overseas voters, was pardoned by US president Donald Trump last year after a conviction for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act.

The Telegraph reported he had intended to give Reform £1 million a month up until the next election, but was donating the money in a lump sum in case the government introduced a cap on all political donations.

MPs last week backed measures including a cap on overseas donations at £100,000 and a suspension of funding through cryptocurrency, but the draft legislation still needs to be passed by the House of Lords to become law.

Backbench calls for a cap on all donations have not been successful.

The twin donations offer Mr Farage’s party a boost after a summer dominated by scrutiny of Reform’s finances, including the launch of a criminal investigation into allegations it breached rules on political donations.

Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and has said it will co-operate fully with the probe.

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