Nathan Gill, a former ally of Nigel Farage, was found guilty of accepting payments to parrot Kremlin talking points while serving as an MEP.
LONDON — A British politician and former ally of Nigel Farage was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on Friday for accepting bribes to make favorable statements about Russia in the European Parliament.
Nathan Gill, 52, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, was found guilty earlier this year of eight counts of bribery committed between December 2018 and July 2019. British police estimated that Gill received approximately £40,000 ($53,000) in illicit payments.
Prosecutors at the Old Bailey stated that Gill, who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) until the UK’s exit from the EU in early 2020, took instructions from Oleg Voloshyn, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician. Gill was paid to promote pro-Russian narratives regarding the conflict in Ukraine, both in his parliamentary speeches and in opinion pieces for outlets such as 112 Ukraine.
During the trial, prosecutor Mark Heywood explained that messages between Gill and Voloshyn contained coded references to financial transfers, proving an “established relationship.” The evidence also showed that Gill encouraged other European parliamentarians to back Russia’s stance on Ukraine.
Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb, who delivered the sentence, told Gill that he allowed money to “corrupt his moral compass.”
“When you say what someone has paid you to say, you are not speaking honestly,” the judge remarked, emphasizing the obligation of elected officials to speak with conviction.
Gill was arrested at Manchester Airport in September 2021 as he attempted to board a flight to Russia. The formal indictment was issued in February of this year following an investigation that included a forensic examination of his mobile phone.
The conviction has sparked a political firestorm in the UK. Gill was elected as an MEP for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 2014 under Farage’s leadership, later joining the Brexit Party (now Reform UK).
Following the sentencing, Reform UK released a statement calling Gill’s actions “reprehensible, treacherous, and unforgivable,” adding that “justice had been done.” However, political rivals seized on the verdict to demand a wider inquiry.
“A traitor was at the top of Reform UK, aiding and abetting a foreign adversary,” said Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats. He called for an “exhaustive investigation” into Russian interference in British politics, noting Farage’s own past appearances on the Kremlin-backed network Russia Today.
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