The Guardian reports that Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne, a major Reform UK donor and crypto investor, holds a global web of commercial interests in the arms industry and military contracts. Harborne has provided roughly two-thirds of Reform’s funding and gave Nigel Farage an undeclared £5m gift that the parliamentary watchdog is investigating. The investigation finds Harborne is the biggest shareholder in a company that began as the UK military’s research arm and is now a private firm developing autonomous weapons. Harborne also owns an aviation fuel business described by a collaborator as a top supplier to US military operations and works with numerous former army officers, air force pilots, military officials and, reportedly, spies. Farage has publicly urged the Bank of England governor to rescind a crypto policy that could affect Harborne’s interests. Harborne’s lawyers at Schillings said his commercial interests are unconnected to his political affiliations, while University of Bristol funding expert Sam Power said the scale of the links warrants close scrutiny.
