UK far-right politician jailed for 10 years and 6 months for taking Russian bribes

Nathan Gill, the former leader of the Reform party in Wales, was today sentenced to 10 years and 6 months imprisonment after accepting bribes from Russia. Gill, 52, was paid thousands of pounds to make Putin-friendly speeches in the European Parliament, where he served from 2014 to 2020; he admitted eight counts of bribery. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb described the case as a "sophisticated offending" and a "grave betrayal" of those who voted for him.

The BBC reports that the investigation is still underway and touches on national security.

Armed Forces minister Alistair Carns has called for Reform to "conduct a full investigation" to "weed out any Russian influence whatsoever in the party".

Speaking to broadcasters, he says: "I've been in the marines for 24 years and to find out that someone has taken money from Russia, I think is an absolute disgrace."

He adds: "To find out someone has taken bribes from the Russian state is absolutely… it's despicable, and I genuinely believe that we need Reform to conduct a full investigation to… weed out any Russian influence whatsoever in the party."

A statement from the Metropolitan Police's Dominic Murphy, talking to the BBC: "I think from the sentence we've seen here, what we can see is that Nathan Gill has been held absolutely to account for his activity. That should send a strong message to any elected official or anyone in an official capacity who is asked to act on behalf of another government and paid money to do so. You do that at significant risk, and you really do need to do your due diligence to make sure that you understand who you're working for and what you're saying is appropriate."

How did they catch him? Among "several intelligence sources", the FBI found his name on the phone of Oleg Voloshyn, a Ukrainian caught spying for Russia, when he visited the USA in 2021.

In December last year it emerged that Elon Musk planned on pouring money into the Reform Party and other elements of the UK far right. Though it would be illegal, it soon became clear that the U.K. is not well-prepared to prevent or prosecute wealthy individuals who want to finance political groups in Britain.