The Guardian reports that billionaire donor Christopher Harborne, who gave Nigel Farage an undeclared £5m now under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog, holds a global web of commercial interests in the arms industry and military contracts. Reform UK denies Harborne’s defence and military connections present a conflict of interest for the party’s defence spending policy. The investigation documents Harborne as the biggest shareholder in a private company that was once the UK military’s research arm and that is now developing autonomous weapons, and identifies collaborators including former army officers, retired air force pilots, senior military officials and, it says, spies. A business partner describes Harborne’s aviation fuel venture as a top supplier to US military operations worldwide, strengthened by former US Department of Defense specialists and retired US military pilots. Farage previously urged the Bank of England governor to drop a crypto policy that could have been costly for Harborne. Harborne’s lawyers at Schillings said his commercial interests are unconnected to his political affiliations. University of Bristol political funding expert Sam Power said the links “warrant a spotlight” and that it will be noteworthy if Reform’s policies align with Harborne’s military interests as they have with cryptocurrency.
