Boris Johnson smashes record for most money raised by UK politician

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Boris Johnson has broken the record for the most money raised by a British politician in his bid to become prime minister, winning the backing of eurosceptic financiers after hardening his Brexit stance with a "do or die" pledge.

Financiers and businessmen who funded the campaign to leave the European Union are among the donors who have poured hundreds of thousands of pounds into Johnson's campaign.

In the last two weeks, Johnson has registered 200,000 pounds ($248,400) in donations, taking the total amount he has received in the last year to 702,000 pounds, according to new figures released by parliament on Wednesday.

This has helped Johnson surpass the previous fundraising record set by the former foreign minister David Miliband who raised 627,000 pounds for his bid to lead the Labour Party in 2010.

($1 = 0.8052 pounds) (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Kate Holton)