Former Reform UK Wales MEP jailed for pro-Russia bribery

Former Reform UK leader in Wales and ex-MEP Nathan Gill has been jailed for taking bribes to make pro-Russian statements, following an investigation led by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

Gill, 52, from Anglesey, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on 26 September to eight counts of bribery under the Bribery Act 2010. He was sentenced on Friday to ten years and six months in prison. Police described the case as a clear example of a foreign power seeking to covertly influence UK political discourse.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said the sentence “should send a clear message that any efforts by foreign powers to bribe people in the UK in elected and influential positions will not be tolerated.”

He added that Gill had “peddled views and opinions that were in support of the Russian state’s activities in Ukraine” and that the investigation had demonstrated “grave and severe consequences for anyone here who engages with that sort of activity.”

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The Met said Gill had accepted money from Ukrainian pro-Russian politician Oleg Voloshyn in return for making statements that mirrored Kremlin talking points, including pushing claims about media freedoms in Ukraine and criticising the investigation into Viktor Medvedchuk, then facing treason charges.

Gill was intercepted at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021 while preparing to fly to Moscow. Officers seized his phone and searched his Anglesey home, where they found electronic devices and cash in euros and US dollars. Messages recovered from his phone showed Gill and Voloshyn using coded references to “Xmas gifts” and “postcards” that detectives later linked to payments of “5k” for each requested statement.

The Met said detectives identified eight occasions between December 2018 and July 2019 where Gill delivered statements that were “almost verbatim copies” of scripts supplied by Voloshyn, either in the European Parliament or to media outlets. Investigators were assisted by the FBI, which provided evidence attributing Voloshyn’s communications.

Gill made no comment when interviewed in March 2022. He was charged in January 2025. Voloshyn has also been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery but has not been arrested and remains wanted.

Commander Murphy thanked European and US partners and said the case showed the UK would “work closely together with our partners to disrupt this kind of activity and protect our collective democratic values and our national security.”