Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, has been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for accepting bribes to make pro-Russia statements while serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Gill, 52, from Llangefni, Anglesey, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019.
Police believe Gill received at least £30,000 from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian MP and alleged Russian asset who remains under investigation and is believed to be in Moscow. The payments were made for statements designed to benefit the Kremlin's narrative on Ukraine in the period before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Sentencing Gill at the Old Bailey, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said he had betrayed public trust. “When you say what someone has paid you to say, you are not speaking with sincerity… allowing money to corrupt your moral compass constitutes a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate,” she said.
Defence minister Al Carns called on Reform UK to launch a thorough investigation to root out any pro-Russia links. “Nigel Farage must urgently initiate an independent investigation into every inch of Reform UK’s party structures… to give the public a cast-iron guarantee that any remaining pro-Russian links have been removed,” he said.
A Reform UK spokesperson described Gill’s actions as “reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable”, adding: “We are glad that justice has been served.” Police have not questioned Nigel Farage as part of the investigation and say there is no evidence Gill influenced him.
