Exclusive: Plane that flew Reform leader to Maldives appears to be linked to billionaire Christopher Harborne
Nigel Farage’s attempt to reach the Chagos Islands military base was made on a private jet that appears to be linked to Reform UK’s mega-donor Christopher Harborne, it has emerged.
Harborne, who has donated £12m to Reform UK, has links to two charter planes that flew Farage to the Maldives and, separately, a group of Chagossian campaigners to Sri Lanka, before they attempted to reach the archipelago by boat.
The Thailand-based cryptocurrency and aviation investor did not reply to requests for comment about whether he owns the planes that facilitated the stunt. The trip ended in failure for the Reform UK leader after he was unable to reach the islands without permission from the UK government to access the military base.
Farage said he undertook the trip to highlight the plight of the Chagossians, whose families were removed from the islands in the 1960s and are seeking to return. He also opposes the UK government’s decision to hand sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius to comply with international law while continuing to lease the base from them.
