The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been jailed for 10 and a half years after taking bribes to make pro-Russia statements while a member of the European parliament.
Nathan Gill, 52, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday after previously pleading guilty to eight counts of bribery on dates between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019.
Ms Justice Cheema-Grubb handed him the sentence as she said that the harm he had caused was “profound” and that he had “fundamentally compromised” the integrity of a legislative body for “substantial” financial gain.
Gill’s activities included making pro-Russia statements about events in Ukraine in the European parliament and in opinion pieces for news outlets, for which he was paid £40,000.
Gill was first elected a member of the European parliament in 2014, representing Ukip, and his role ended when the UK left the EU in 2020 – at which point he was an MEP for the Brexit Party.
He led Reform UK’s 2021 Welsh parliament election campaign, but left the party that year.
Opening the facts of the case at the Old Bailey on Friday, prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said Gill’s crimes were exposed after he was stopped at Manchester airport on 13 September 2021 and his phone was seized.
“He said that he was travelling to Russia by invitation to attend a scientific conference in Moscow, and that he had been invited to act as an observer in the Russian state Duma elections in the middle of that month.
“He also said that he had performed the same role on two previous occasions,” the prosecutor said.
Gill’s mobile phone was examined and messages were found between him and Oleg Voloshyn, now 44, who served as a pro-Russia Ukrainian government official until 2014.
Mr Heywood said: “The communications between the two men showed that an established relationship existed between them.”
WhatsApp messages between the pair included references to “promised x-mas gifts”, “postcards”, and “5K”, which was a reference to payments, he said.
After Gill spoke from a script at one debate, Mr Voloshyn told him: “Impressive... You are the perfect orator”, the court was told.
Further exchanges between the pair related to Gill being paid €5,000 for speaking with the Ukrainian news channel 112 Ukraine about the case of Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukraine national and ally of Vladimir Putin, who was being prosecuted for treason.
In other messages, Gill was invited to encourage others to adopt the same approach and repeat the same line that he had used, the court was told.
There were references to other members of the European parliament, including British representatives and politicians from the Netherlands.
Mr Voloshyn reported that if Gill could get three, then “they” would be extremely grateful and that his fee would be “5K”.
The Old Bailey also heard that, following the 2019 European elections, Mr Voloshyn asked Gill to arrange for colleagues from the Brexit Party to attend a presentation by Medvedchuk on the conflict in the Donbas region.
“He asked that Mr Gill book a room, he asked that he invite colleagues from the Brexit Party to attend,” Mr Heywood said, adding: “Mr Gill said that he would see about his new colleagues, but it will take time to build a relationship with them, as they are all new to politics.
“He later expressed certainty that he could ‘Drag a few in to attend’.
“Mr Voloshyn’s response to that was that he would definitely be fairly rewarded, and then these words: ‘I already have a small sack of paper gifts for you.’”
Mr Heywood said Gill had voluntarily attended a police station interview and answered “No comment” to all questions. The prosecutor told the court that Gill’s offending fell into the “highest category” of culpability.
He said: “The indictment offending spanned a series of months, and arguably came to an end at a time when it was obvious that his involvement, his role as a member of the European parliament, was either at, or soon to be at, an end.
“It appears from the material that Mr Gill was expecting to receive the order of several thousand, perhaps £5,000 or euros, in respect of each offence. He was to do so in cash, but he was to do so clandestinely.”
Peter Wright KC, defending Gill, said that his client was “of hitherto good character” and was facing prison for the first time.
“[He has] a lifelong history of commendable service to others, as reflected in the testimonials and his political career, culminating in his elections to both the European parliament as an MEP, and to the Welsh Assembly,” he said.
“All now utterly dashed by his conduct, as reflected in the counts in this indictment, which in the context of his life, with all its laudable and noble features, is utterly unfathomable.”
Mr Wright said Gill’s Eurosceptic views had gained “greater prominence” because of the wider political climate at the time, but that he had also had a “genuine concern” for the tensions in eastern Ukraine between pro-Ukraine and pro-Russian factions.
“He travelled and met a number of opposition Ukrainian MPs, who highlighted to him the plight of the Russian-speaking sections of the population,” he said.
“It was a version of events, and a prism through which to view the tensions, that struck a chord as to the myopic way in which these tensions were being portrayed on the geopolitical stage.
“The defendant had not deliberately set out to monetise his availability. But it’s clear [that] payments were offered. They were not refused, and to his abiding shame, once made, [they were] kept and not declared.
“He can offer no excuse for that utterly venal compromise of his hitherto highly held principles. There is, on his behalf, no attempt to deflect or dissemble.”
Sentencing Gill, Ms Justice Cheema-Grubb said the harm he had inflicted was “indeed profound”.
“You abused a position of significant authority and trust, with your crimes spanning eight months, motivated by financial and political gain,” she said.
“The offending was sophisticated. You accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MEPs.
“Your conduct fundamentally compromised the integrity of a supranational legislative body, particularly in its dealings with Russia – a persistent hostile state during a period of an association agreement between the EU and Ukraine reached in 2017.
“The revelation of your actions has a broad and deleterious effect on public confidence and trust in democratic institutions of importance to many dozens of millions of people.
“The aggregate financial gain, although difficult to quantify precisely due to the piecemeal cash nature of the payments, is substantial.”
Ms Justice Cheema-Grubb told Gill that “there is scant personal mitigation” before she jailed him. She said his offending was “persistent, rather than an isolated lapse of judgement”.
The judge said his actions had “eroded public confidence in democracy”.
“Your misconduct has ramifications far beyond [your] personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged. It erodes public confidence in democracy,” she said.
“When politicians succumb to financial inducement, the public can no longer rely on the veracity of political debate, which may be tainted by disinformation.”
After the sentence was passed, the security minister Dan Jarvis said: “Nathan Gill used his privileged position in public office to advance the malign interests of Russia over those of the UK in exchange for money – that is a betrayal of our country, our people, and our national security.
“He will now face the consequences of his actions. This week, I announced comprehensive action to disrupt and deter interference from foreign states. Russia’s hostility and attempts to weaken our democracy will continue to be met by the full force of the law.”
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served and fully welcome the sentence Nathan Gill has received.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “A traitor was at the very top of Reform UK, aiding and abetting a foreign adversary. Nigel Farage and his party are a danger to national security.
“Nigel Farage himself was previously paid to be on Putin’s TV channel, Russia Today, and said [Putin] was the world leader he admires the most. We must all ask – where do his loyalties really lie?
“We need a full investigation into Russian interference in our politics.”
