Vodafone and Deliveroo will dispatch senior representatives to the Reform UK conference this week, even though the party has publicly threatened to send their bosses to prison.

Telecoms giant Vodafone, operating under its UK banner Vodafonethree, will host a fringe event at Reform's annual gathering, despite home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf having warned chief executive Margherita Della Valle that she would be jailed if the company did not cut its ties with a refugee charity.

In a letter to Della Valle last month, the Reform heavyweight accused the FTSE 100 group of "helping to facilitate the invasion of Britain" by donating more than 2,000 sim cards to Care4calais. He warned that a Reform UK government would hold Vodafone directors "criminally liable" for issuing the pay-as-you-go cards once elected, and would review all of the company's public sector contracts — a significant leverage point given Vodafone's substantial work across UK government and public sector communications.

Yusuf launched the unusual broadside even though Vodafonethree had already agreed to become one of the most prominent partners at the party's conference this week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Together with social cohesion think tank Moreincommon, the firm is staging an event at Reform's inaugural business day, where panellists will discuss unlocking investment in Britain's digital infrastructure. London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham and head of local government Ben Bradley will speak on the panel, alongside Vodafone's head of government affairs and the chief executive of Mobile UK.

Companies find themselves in Reform's sights

Vodafone is one of several blue-chip firms seeking to patch up relations with Reform after receiving a public rebuke from Yusuf as part of his immigration crackdown. The engagement reflects a broader shift in corporate political strategy: with Reform UK riding high in opinion polls since the 2024 general election, where it won five seats and roughly 14 per cent of the vote, companies with large government contracts have growing incentives to open channels to a party that could shape — or hold — power after the next election.

In June, the party threatened to strip outsourcing giant Serco of all its government contracts after the company said it would not take part in an Ice-style deportation campaign.

Two months later, the party announced plans for what it called a 'Deliveroo Law', aimed at companies that turn a blind eye to illegal migrants working within their businesses. Under the push, which formed part of a wider crackdown on illegal working, executives and directors at companies found to employ asylum seekers and illegal migrants would face up to five years in prison.

"In our major cities, it's common knowledge that illegal migrants housed and fed in hotels and HMOs, at immense expense to the British taxpayer, are moonlighting for gig-economy platforms," Yusuf said at the policy's launch, adding that "corporations turn a blind eye while harvesting huge financial returns."

In an effort to smooth over tensions, Deliveroo is sending several public policy executives to Reform's new-look conference in Birmingham, where the party is seeking to attract more mainstream firms, according to a person close to the company.

The party has signed up a record number of corporate partners and sold "unprecedented numbers" of business tickets, a spokesman said. Boutique investment bank Cavendish has sponsored a room for fringe events, while Cadent Gas and engineering firm Amentum are hosting panel sessions similar to Vodafonethree's.

A Reform spokesman said: "Over the last year, we have been building connections and having conversations with business and industry about how we can deliver critical infrastructure, boost investment, bring down energy costs and grow the economy."

Deliveroo and Vodafonethree declined to comment. Serco did not respond to multiple requests for comment.