Labour plans law to claw back Reform's £72m crypto donation after Farage vows to ban union funding

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Labour is pushing legislation that could retrospectively make a £72 million pledge to Reform UK from crypto billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne illegal, even though the donations were made lawfully. Farage has fired back, threatening to ban Labour from accepting trade union funding if Reform ever takes power. The row is escalating rapidly, with both parties now threatening to weaponise donation rules against each other.

Delo and Harborne, described as 'crypto kings', are set to hand Reform the £72m windfall that has ignited the funding war.

Labour's retroactive move is drawing criticism even from those hostile to Reform, with the optics of clawing back lawfully-deposited funds seen as damaging.

A separate FT investigation reveals Reform mega-donor Ben Delo backed a friend's libel claim and now controls her home, deepening scrutiny of his influence.