Pro-Russia payments exposed
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has pleaded guilty to multiple bribery charges after accepting payments to promote pro-Russian messages while serving as a Member of the European Parliament.
At the Old Bailey in London, Nathan Gill, 52, admitted eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019.
The court heard he was paid by ex-Ukrainian politician Oleg Voloshyn to make statements in Brussels and in media outlets that backed Moscow’s narrative on events in Ukraine.
Pro-Russia statements made
Prosecutors said Gill wrote articles and gave speeches that aligned with Russia’s interests. Among the outlets he contributed to was 112 Ukraine, a TV channel later banned in Kyiv over its Kremlin links.
While Gill denied a separate charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, prosecutors confirmed they would not pursue it further.
Gill represented Wales in the European parliament from 2014 to 2020, first for UKIP and later Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, which later rebranded as Reform UK. He briefly returned to lead Reform in Wales during the 2021 Senedd election before stepping down. The party stressed he has not been involved since then.
Police: ‘threat to democracy’
Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Police’s counter-terrorism command, said the case exposed how a serving MEP had been paid to spread Russian-aligned views.
“This goes to the heart of our democratic values,” he said.
Gill, from Llangefni on Anglesey, was arrested in 2021 under anti-terror laws. He will be sentenced in November.
