Christopher Harborne, a reclusive crypto billionaire based in Thailand, has donated a further £36million to Reform UK, matching a record donation from fellow party backer Ben Delo. Harborne, named as Britain's richest British-born billionaire on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £18.2billion, said his "competitive spirit" drove him to match Delo's gift after learning of it, and called on other wealthy donors to follow suit. The donation cements his position as Reform's biggest single financial backer and highlights the scale of wealthy support flowing into Nigel Farage's party.

Harborne, 63, born in Yorkshire and educated at Westminster School and Cambridge, has lived in Thailand for decades, taken Thai citizenship and a Thai name, and fiercely guards his privacy, with even his marital status unknown. Alongside the latest £36million gift, he has previously given Reform and its predecessor the Brexit Party around £25million, plus a separate, disputed £5million personal payment to Farage before the 2024 election that Farage says covered security costs and which is now under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. Writing in the Telegraph, Harborne said he wanted to help Britain "regenerate" so it could better fund public services, while Farage has defended him as a supporter seeking nothing in return.