Reform 'very confident' £72m donations were legal - but Rayner warns of 'backdated' action

Reform UK have said they are "very confident" a record £72m in donations made to them over the weekend are "perfectly legal".

But Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has warned that the funds could be retrospectively capped if they fell foul of new laws on political donations.

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Reform was given two seperate £36m donations by two crypto billionaires, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with... Rachel Johnson on Sky News this morning, Reform's economy spokesperson Robert Jenrick said the donations were a "breakthrough moment" for the party, which will enable Reform to be "battle ready" for the next general election, and to do work to "prepare for government".

However, speaking on the same programme, Rayner - who is the government minister in charge of democracy and elections - said that any action taken following government plans to curb donations from Brits overseas "will be backdated".

She added that donors who were based overseas and who have "recently returned to the UK... are also within the scope" of a review of donations rules.

But she refused to say directly whether the two £36m donations to Reform could be capped.

Rayner said Labour is legislating to ensure "secure elections that are for the people, and that you can't buy your way into our democracy".

The Representation of the People Bill, which passed the House of Commons in earlier this month and will be debated by the House of Lords on Monday, includes proposals to cap donations made by Brits based overseas at £100,000.

The cap would also apply for the first year of those donors moving back to the UK. These measures would be backdated to March.

Harborne was thought to be living in Thailand, while Delo is reported to have recently moved back to the UK from Hong King.

But Sky's deputy political editor Sam Coates has been told that Harborne and Delo both moved back to the UK before the March cut-off, meaning their mega donations would not be in scope of being capped.

A Reform source said the party is "100% confident both are legal and won't ever have to be handed back".

Asked whether the public will see Reform as "in hock" to the two crypto billionaires, given the size of their donations, Jenrick told Sky News that was "complete nonsense", and that he had "never spoken to either these individuals about cryptocurrency".

"They've asked nothing in return for their donations," he added, pledging that neither Delo or Harborne would receive honours in return for their donations, should Reform enter government after the next election.

Speaking on the same programme, Conservative shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat said that while he welcomes donors "supporting political activity", every political party "is responsible for checking the sources of their own donations".

The two sizeable donations - the biggest in UK political history - are the latest chapter in ongoing stories about Reform's finances.

Party leader Nigel Farage previously received a £5m personal gift from Harborne made in early 2024. He is currently under investigation by the parliamentary commissioner to standards over whether he should have declared the gift when he became an MP in July 2024. Farage denies any wrongdoing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Reform 'very confident' £72m donations were legal - but Rayner warns of 'backdated' action