The jailing of former Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill for accepting bribes to deliver pro-Russia speeches has reignited scrutiny of Nigel Farage's own views on Vladimir Putin. Gill, a former MEP, was found to have been paid to spread Kremlin propaganda, prompting Labour to call on Reform UK to disavow 'Putin talking points'.
Farage, who led Ukip, the Brexit Party, and now Reform UK, has described Gill as a 'bad apple' who betrayed his party and country. However, Farage's long-standing admiration for Putin as a political operator and his repeated claims that the West provoked the war in Ukraine have created an environment sympathetic to Moscow, according to critics.
Farage has made at least 17 appearances on Russia Today between 2010 and 2014, where he criticised European democracy. In 2014, he cited Putin as the politician he most admired 'as an operator'. More recently, he stated that Nato expansion gave Putin a reason to go to war, adding: 'We provoked this war. Of course, it's his fault.'
Reform UK has condemned Gill's actions as 'reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable'. However, Labour is urging Farage to root out pro-Russia views within his party and disavow the idea that the West provoked the invasion. Farage is not known for abandoning long-held positions, but political expediency may push Reform to distance itself from such rhetoric as it leads in the polls.
