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Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison following his admission to receiving bribes in exchange for delivering pro-Russia interviews and speeches. The 52-year-old from Llangefni, Anglesey, reportedly accepted payments amounting to as much as £40,000 to support pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.
During his tenure as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Gill took money from Oleg Voloshyn, who has been identified by the US government as a “pawn” of Russian intelligence services. At the Old Bailey, Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb condemned Gill’s conduct, highlighting how he abused his political position and damaged “public confidence in democracy.”
Voloshyn was acting on behalf of Viktor Medvedchuk, a 71-year-old former oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Medvedchuk was accused of treason in Ukraine and arrested at the outset of the 2022 Russian invasion but was later exchanged in a prisoner swap with Russia. Police investigations into whether other individuals were involved in wrongdoing continue, with the Metropolitan Police confirming a wider inquiry is underway. Reform UK expressed relief at the sentencing and condemned Gill’s actions as “reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable.” Labour’s defence minister, Al Carns, further urged Nigel Farage to scrutinize his own party, emphasizing that no loyal British political organization should allow covert pro-Russian influence.
Commander Dominic Murphy, leading the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit, described Gill as an “extraordinarily willing participant” in the bribery scheme and stressed that these activities posed a “threat to national security.” He placed Gill’s case within a broader context of Russian hostile operations, alongside incidents like the 2018 Salisbury poisonings and a 2024 arson attack in London. Gill, who was initially elected as a UKIP MEP before moving to the Brexit Party, had pleaded guilty in March to eight counts of bribery. In exchange for monetary payments, Gill gave televised interviews endorsing Medvedchuk and spoke in defense of pro-Russian Ukrainian TV channels 112 Ukraine and NewsOne at the European Parliament. Both channels had faced possible shutdown by Ukrainian authorities in 2018 and 2019 and were ultimately taken off-air by 2021.
The court was told that Voloshyn also asked Gill to recruit other MEPs, mainly from the UK but also from Germany and France, to speak on behalf of the pro-Russian channels. However, the judge clarified there was no evidence these other politicians were aware of Gill’s financial motivations. Text messages revealed Voloshyn promising financial rewards
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