Reform UK’s former Wales leader jailed for taking bribes as MEP for pro-Russia statements

Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for 10 and a half years for taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia when he was an MEP. Gill, a member of the Ukip and Brexit party blocs led by Nigel Farage in the European parliament, had pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019. Related: Reform UK, the Russian spy and rolls of Kremlin cash: the inside story of Nathan Gill Police say Gill received the equivalent of at least £40,000 and could have got even more from Oleg Voloshyn, an alleged Russian asset who is also under investigation but is now believed to be in Moscow. Investigators who were taken by surprise by Gill’s guilty plea in September say he has given no explanation about his motivation, but they believe he was largely driven by financial need. The statements he made were designed to benefit the Kremlin’s narrative on Ukraine in the period before Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022. Gill made the statements in the European parliament and also on a pro-Russian Ukrainian television channel linked to an ally of Vladimir Putin. More details soon …