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The Electoral Commission is assessing a £30,000 donation to Reform UK in the form of private flights which appears to have been secretly funded by a ‘credit’ from the air firm’s owner.
In June, Byline Times reported on a donation of £30,000 recorded by the Electoral Commission to Reform UK from Volare Aviation Ltd, recorded in February this year.
The firm’s legally-required accounts were months overdue at the time, and are now more than 230 days overdue.
In its initial response to questions about the donation, a spokesperson for Volare Aviation told Byline Times it provided aviation services to Reform Party UK Limited, requested through Reform personnel, to carry Reform figures and “associated attendees” around the country, and invoiced Reform at normal commercial rates.
But the firm added a detail not recorded by the elections watchdog: that Reform’s account with the company included a £30,000 “credit associated with support from Mr Dustin Dryden,” the company’s owner.
A company is only a legitimate donor when it gives from its own resources. It cannot lawfully act as a mere conduit for an individual’s money.
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There is no allegation of wrongdoing of Dryden. However, the revelation throws into question whether the true source of the donation was hidden by Nigel Farage’s party.
If the £30,000 in value actually came from Dryden personally, and the company was simply the vehicle it passed through, then the true donor is Dryden and Reform UK recording ‘Volare Aviation Ltd’ as the donor with the Electoral Commission was inaccurate.
Companies House records describe the South African-raised businessman as British and resident in England. If he is on a UK electoral register he would himself be a permissible donor. The question is whether Reform UK hid the true source of its funding for private flights.
Party treasurers are legally responsible for delivering accurate donation reports and for verifying permissibility within 30 days of receipt. If Reform knew or ought to have known the true source differed from what was filed, it is potentially legally exposed.
Byline Times has been investigating a number of companies with late corporate filings, insolvency issues and strike-off action which have nonetheless donated large sums to Reform UK in the past two years.
The £30,000 un-reported ‘credit’ from a private flight company’s owner is just the latest in a long list of unanswered questions over Reform UK’s finances, including the true nature of the £5 million ‘gift’ to Nigel Farage from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the 2024 General Election, unreported funding from convicted fraudster George Cottrell, and the source of funds for his mother’s £750,000 in donations to Reform in recent years.
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Enforcement Proceedings
The Electoral Commission told Byline Times on 6 July that it was “aware of this matter and [is] considering it under our regulatory remit.” On being pressed, the political finance regulator confirmed the matter “is not the subject of an investigation by the Commission.”
However, on 13 July, the Electoral Commission told an investigator at Reform-tracker The Verified Receipts “our review remains ongoing”, suggesting something had changed.
On 22 July, The Verified Receipts received further correspondence from the watchdog saying the case had been referred from their Information of Concern team to the Enforcement Team and allocated to a Senior Investigator on 14 July.
The donation is now undergoing a formal “assessment”, the stage where they weigh the evidence to decide whether to launch a full investigation formally under electoral law (potentially resulting in a fine or further action), or resolve it another way, such as through guidance.
In a letter, the senior investigator said: “I am writing in relation to a non-cash donation of £30,000 recorded as being received by Reform UK from Volare Aviation Ltd on 13 February 2026. Thank you for raising this matter with us. The purpose of this letter is to notify you that we are carrying out an assessment of these matters as part of our enforcement process….The matter was referred to the Enforcement Team.”
Reform UK’s £30,000 Donation in Private Flights was Secretly Funded by Owner’s ‘Credit’
A Byline Times investigation raises questions about whether the true source of the money went undeclared by Nigel Farage’s party
The Electoral Commission official added: “The first stage of the enforcement process is to conduct an assessment. Assessments are a consideration of the issues and evidence to determine whether to investigate, or whether an issue can be dealt with another way, such as through the provision of guidance.
“We may investiga