UK bill could retrospectively restrict reported £72m Reform UK donations

A proposed UK government bill could retrospectively restrict reported donations worth £72 million to Reform UK, Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has said, as Parliament considers new limits on political funding from overseas electors and recently returned Britons.

The reported sum comprises two £36 million donations from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, who have both previously been based outside the UK. Harborne is a UK and Thai citizen, while Delo recently returned from Hong Kong. The circumstances relevant to the proposed rules, including the timing of Delo’s return and Harborne’s current residency, remain unclear.

Under the bill, donations from Britons living abroad or those who returned to the UK within the previous 12 months would be capped at £100,000 a year. The government has proposed backdating the restrictions to 25 March for registered overseas electors, or 6 July for other covered donors, subject to the legislation completing its passage through Parliament.

Rayner said the measures were intended to protect UK democracy from foreign interference and were not directed at particular donors or political parties. The legislation follows recommendations from former permanent secretary Philip Rycroft’s review of overseas political donations.

Reform UK said it was confident the donations complied with Electoral Commission rules and UK law, and said both donors were British citizens entitled to support the party. Labour MPs have separately criticised the government for not putting a proposed £100,000 annual cap on most domestic donations to a vote during consideration of the elections bill.

The Guardian reported Rayner’s comments and Reform’s response. The final application of the proposed rules to the reported donations remains unresolved.