Reform's £72m donations 'entirely in line with law', Jenrick says

Reform UK’s £72 million in donations from two cryptocurrency billionaires is “entirely in line with the law,” party deputy chairman Robert Jenrick told the BBC. Jenrick, speaking as the party’s economic spokesperson, said he does not expect Reform UK to be required to return any of the funds contributed by Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. Both donors are British nationals who have lived abroad for periods of time. “The two donations are wholly in line with the law as it is and, as far as we know, the law as it’s going to be in the future,” Jenrick said. He added on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that Delo has returned to the United Kingdom “in part so that he can comply with the changes to the law.” Jenrick also speculated that Housing Secretary Angela Rayner or the government might be attempting to tighten donation rules further to make it harder for supporters to contribute to Reform UK, a move he said would surprise him. “But, as it stands, we believe these are wholly in line with the law,” he insisted. According to Jenrick, each donor gave £36 million to the party within a two‑day period, and he characterised the contributions as purely ideological: “not buying anything, they simply support our agenda.” The combined £72 million gift now represents the largest single donation ever made to a UK political party. The government is seeking to amend the rules governing donations from British expatriates. Proposed changes include a £100,000 cap on contributions from individuals who return to the UK, backdated to 25 March, and broader limits on overseas donations by British citizens. These measures were incorporated into the Representation of the People Bill after receiving approval from MPs this month. The bill remains pending scrutiny in the House of Lords. Appearing on the same programme, Angela Rayner declined to comment on whether the proposed reforms would specifically affect Delo and Harborne, stating, “I don’t know the individual circumstances of those donors.” Rayner characterised the revisions as “directly as a result” of a review conducted by former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft, which was published on 25 March. She explained that, because of the government’s intent and the accepted recommendations, the changes were understood to be retrospective to that date. “That legislation is going through Parliament at the moment and we’ve also written to the Electoral Commission, which is an independent body, to see what further measures we need to take to support our democracy,” Rayner said.