Nigel Farage is facing mounting pressure to investigate and eradicate links between Reform UK and Russia after one of his party's former senior politicians was sentenced to 10 years in prison for accepting bribes from a pro-Kremlin agent.
The Gill Conviction and Its Fallout
Nathan Gill, who served as Reform UK's leader in Wales, admitted to eight counts of accepting payments to make statements favourable to Russia. The sentencing marks a damaging development for Farage, coming at the end of a week where he also faced historical racism allegations, which he denies.
Police investigations revealed that Gill received at least £30,000 and potentially more from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian MP and alleged Russian asset now believed to be in Moscow and wanted for high treason in Ukraine. The offences occurred between 2018 and 2019 while Gill was an MEP, first elected as part of the Ukip group led by Farage before joining the Brexit party.
Wider Network of Pro-Russia Statements
The political fallout intensified as it emerged Gill had been paid to arrange for other Brexit party and former Ukip MEPs to make pro-Russia statements without their knowledge. According to Crown Prosecution Service sentencing notes, four other MEPs - Steven Woolfe, William Dartmouth, Jonathan Arnott and Jonathan Bullock - made interventions after Gill was promised bribes from Voloshyn to arrange their statements.
A fifth MEP, David Coburn, former Ukip leader in Scotland, was also mentioned in WhatsApp messages between Voloshyn and Gill. Investigators confirmed none of these MEPs received money themselves or were aware of the financial arrangements.
The pro-Russia statements were delivered in the European parliament and on 112 Ukraine, a pro-Kremlin television channel, designed to benefit Russia's narrative in the period before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Political Reactions and Demands for Investigation
Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that Farage has serious questions to answer, telling the BBC: "This demands that Nigel Farage investigate how that happened within his party, and what other links there are between his party and Russia." Labour has called for Farage to "leave no stone unturned" in reviewing Reform UK's structures, membership, donors and representatives.
Farage dismissed Gill as a single "bad apple" and attempted to redirect scrutiny toward Labour, accusing them of needing to investigate "links with the Chinese Communist party." Meanwhile, the Conservatives demanded Farage "come clean on the nature of his relationship with Gill," while the Liberal Democrats launched attack ads depicting the Reform UK leader in Vladimir Putin's pocket.
Reform UK issued a statement describing Gill's actions as "reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable" and expressed satisfaction that justice had been served.
Sentencing Gill at the Old Bailey, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said he had betrayed public trust, noting: "When you say what someone has paid you to say, you are not speaking with sincerity. If it were your genuine opinion, you would not need to be paid for saying it."
The case has raised further questions after it was revealed that while several former colleagues and aides voluntarily assisted police, Farage himself has not been interviewed by investigators.
