News just in: the former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been handed a prison sentence of 10 and a half years for bribery. Nathan Gill admitted to taking pro-Russia bribes and was paid thousands to give TV interviews that favoured a key ally of Vladimir Putin. He also made pro-Russia speeches in the European parliament where he was an MEP for six years. Crikey!
Gill – who was also previously the leader of UKIP in Wales from 2014 to 2016 before becoming Reform leader in 2021 – admitted eight counts of bribery between 2018 and 2019. Today, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told Gill his actions conflicted with his duties to respect parliamentary processes and ‘abused a position of significant authority and trust’. She added that the ‘harm inflicted is profound’, going on:
When you say what someone has paid you to say, you are not speaking with sincerity. If it was your genuine opinion, you would not need to be paid for saying it. Allowing money to corrupt your moral compass constitutes a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate. Your misconduct has ramifications beyond personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged.
The ex-Reform Wales leader was flagged to the Metropolitan police by the FBI, among other intelligence sources, when it found messages between Gill and pro-Russian politician Oleg Voloshyn. Counter terror officers stopped Gill at Manchester Airport before he flew to Moscow, while detectives raided his house – discovering cash in both Euros and US dollars.
Gill was a trusted ally of Nigel Farage – who has come under pressure over his stance on Russia in the past. Just recently, Sir Keir Starmer implied Reform UK was ‘Putin-friendly’ and today armed forced minister Alistair Carns has called on the party to fully investigate and ‘weed out any Russian influence whatsoever in the party’.
For his part, Farage told Steerpike at a recent press conference that he was ‘deeply shocked’ by the revelations about Nathan Gill, adding: ‘[He] was a bishop. He used to preach every Sunday morning in the Mormon church. I thought he was incorruptible. He wouldn’t even drink coffee!’ Looks can be deceiving…
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