Reform UK has begun spending £72million in donations from crypto-billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, despite the risk that the money may have to be returned under proposed foreign-donor rules. The funds are already being used to hire additional staff and launch Reform TV online, even as Labour signals it could tighten the law in a way that would retrospectively catch the donations, since both men spent years living abroad. Nigel Farage insists the donations are "100 per cent compliant" with current law, while a party source told the Mail they are confident the money will never need to be handed back.

The dispute centres on the Government's Representation of the People Bill, which proposes a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens based overseas and would apply for 12 months after any return to the UK, backdated to March. Delo was based in Hong Kong and Harborne in Thailand, raising questions over whether their combined £72million gift would meet toughened residency requirements ministers are now considering, with Baroness Taylor telling the Lords that donors would need to show a "genuine and ongoing connection" to the UK. Separately, Reform chairman Lee Anderson warned that if the party wins the next election it would legislate to stop trade unions funding Labour, should Andy Burnham move to cut off Reform's donors first, calling it a tit-for-tat threat that could mean "game over" for Labour's finances.