'Nigel hits the jackpot' and 'Dark day for democracy'

Most of the papers feature details of the two huge donations to Reform UK on their front page, including the Sunday Times, which says the "unprecedented cash injection" has "stunned politics".

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the second donor, Christopher Harborne, argues that Britain needs to regenerate after more than a decade of decline and says he believes Reform is "the only party" that can deliver economic prosperity. He insists he expects "nothing" in return for his donation which he describes as a "philanthropic gift" to the UK.

Reform's leader, Nigel Farage, has told the Mail on Sunday that the donations of Harborne and Ben Delo "help to level a playing field that has always been tilted against any genuine challenge to the two-party duopoly". He stresses the money "will be used for one purpose only" - to ensure Reform is ready to form a government at the next election - adding that it will fund "the best research department British politics has ever seen", meaning policies are properly costed and workable.

Several papers use their leader column to assess the donations.

The Sunday Express says the funds have the potential to "transform" the next election race, calling them a "powerful show of support" for Nigel Farage and his party at a time when it faces controversies over funding. The Mail on Sunday suggests the donations "might just have changed the course of British politics for the better". It urges Farage to use the money to professionalise Reform and marginalise the chancers who invariably hang around new political movements.

The Sunday Times urges caution, saying voters will have to wait for the Reform manifesto to find out whether mega-donors can buy influence. But the Observer already appears certain they can, warning that the gifts "are an insult to British democracy" and a "serious challenge to its integrity". The Sunday Mirror is also concerned. It says voters need to be reassured that national politics is not for sale to the highest bidder and that Britain's democracy "is not being hawked off to a couple of billionaires who seem to have more money than sense".

Elsewhere, the Sun on Sunday reports that American spies have smuggled a paedophile who was working at the US embassy in London out of the UK without informing British police. It says the move has "sparked accusations of a cover-up" and prompted crisis meetings between Scotland Yard and senior ministers. The Metropolitan Police says it is liaising with US authorities about an investigation into suspected offences relating to indecent images of children.

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