Senior Reform official cast doubt over legality of huge donations

The central issue is whether Reform UK can legally retain two £36m donations after a proposed foreign-donor cap becomes law. Orr discussed the problem before the donations were made, suggesting the party already expected a serious legal dispute. He described the planned law as retrospective and said Reform would challenge it through judicial review.

Orr said Ben Delo might pass a residency test, depending on the wording. But he thought Delo could be excluded if lawmakers required a period of UK tax residence. He viewed Christopher Harborne as more difficult, saying Harborne might be unable to donate for 12 months after returning to Britain.

Reform UK maintains both donations are legal because the cap has not yet become law. The party’s spokesperson said it was “100% confident” the money would not need to be returned. Orr remains suspended while the matter is under police investigation.

The proposed foreign-donor cap is a new limit on political funding from people treated as overseas donors. It would allow such donors to give no more than £100,000 to a political party. The proposal matters because it could affect very large donations that were made before the legislation formally passed.

The rules would apply to donations made after March 2026. They would also require a domestic donor who wants to give more than £100,000 to have been resident in the UK for at least a calendar year. Residency, rather than simply nationality or a UK address, therefore becomes central to eligibility.

The article says the proposed rules are retrospective because they would cover party donations dating back to March. Reform UK argues the cap has not yet become law, while Orr said the party expected to challenge its operation in court. The exact test would depend on how lawmakers draft the legislation.

The scale is striking: Reform UK received two donations worth £36m each from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo. Together, they amounted to £72m. The proposed overseas-donor cap is £100,000, so the combined donations are 720 times that limit.

Viewed individually, each £36m donation is 360 times the proposed cap. Each one is also £35.9m above the limit. The comparison explains why the donors’ residency and the timing of the legislation matter so much to Reform UK. A rule designed to limit overseas funding could have a major effect on these particular payments.

The proposed cap would apply to donations made after March 2026, while the article describes the two £36m payments as already made. Reform says the donations are legal because the cap has not yet been passed. Orr nevertheless anticipated a legal battle over whether the new rules could reach them.

Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo are billionaire backers of Reform UK who each donated £36m. Their residency matters because the proposed rules would limit overseas donors to £100,000. A donor treated as domestic could potentially give more, but only after meeting a separate UK-residency requirement.

Harborne had been living in Thailand until he registered to vote in Hampshire this summer. Orr said Harborne would be “probably more of a challenge” and might be unable to donate for 12 months after moving back to the UK. Delo has long lived in Hong Kong, although he has been on the UK domestic register for some years.

Orr thought Delo might pass a common-law residency test based on facts such as time spent in England, a home, bills and voting rights. But he said Delo could be excluded if the law required a period of UK tax residence. The final outcome depends on the legislation and how the tests are applied.

If the proposed rules were applied retrospectively and the donations were judged to breach them, Reform UK could face pressure to return the money. The dispute would concern whether the two £36m payments qualified as lawful donations under the new residency and overseas-funding rules. That could affect a major source of the party’s finances.

The key mechanism is the proposed £100,000 limit for overseas donors. Domestic donors giving more than £100,000 would also need at least a calendar year of UK residence. Because the cap would cover donations dating back to March 2026, the donors’ status and the timing of their payments could become decisive.

The article does not state that the money has been ordered back or that a final legal finding has been made. Reform UK says both donations are legal and that they will never have to be returned. Orr said the party would challenge the rules through judicial review, while the matter remains politically and legally contested.

A law is retrospective when it applies to events or transactions that occurred before the law was passed or took effect. Here, the proposed cap would cover donations dating back to March 2026. That means a donation made before enactment could later be assessed under rules that were not yet legally operative.

The practical dispute concerns the £36m payments from Harborne and Delo. If either donor is treated as overseas, the £100,000 limit could become relevant. Orr called the proposal “a retrospective law, which is unheard of” and said Reform would challenge it. The party could argue that the rule was applied beyond its proper legal authority or unfairly.

Judicial review would ask a court to examine how the government or lawmakers applied the rule, rather than simply deciding whether the donations were politically desirable. The article does not report a court ruling. The cap had not yet been passed, and Reform continues to maintain that both donations are legal.

Democratic countries commonly regulate political donations to protect political equality and public confidence. Very large gifts can give a small number of wealthy people unusual influence over parties, campaigns or policy priorities. Overseas donations raise an additional concern because donors who do not live in the country may still try to shape its political choices.

Caps and eligibility tests are mechanisms for limiting that influence. A £100,000 overseas limit would restrict the amount a party could receive from a donor treated as overseas. A residency requirement for large domestic donations would seek to connect major political funding to people who live in the country. Disclosure and enforcement rules can also make funding easier to scrutinise.

The article presents this debate through Reform UK’s two £36m donations from Harborne and Delo. The proposed cap could affect them because of their reported living arrangements. Reform says the donations are legal, while Orr anticipated a court challenge. The wider principle is balancing party funding with safeguards against concentrated or foreign influence.