PM urges Farage to root out Reform links to Russia

Nigel Farage is facing calls to investigate and root out links between Reform UK and Russia after one of its former senior politicians was jailed for 10 years for accepting bribes from a pro-Kremlin agent.

- Ben Quinn Rowena Mason Kiran Stacey

Keir Starmer said Farage had questions to answer about how this had happened in his party. Nathan Gill, a former leader of Reform UK in Wales, admitted taking payments to make statements in favour of Russia. The sentencing came at the end of a damaging week for Farage in which the Guardian revealed accusations that he had engaged in racist chants and comments while at school more than 40 years ago, which he denies.

Reform UK is about 10 points ahead in opinion polls, but Labour believes the party is vulnerable to criticism that Farage and his allies have been too pro-Russia, with the Gill case proving that a paid pro-Kremlin propagandist had risen up its ranks.

Police believe Gill received the equivalent of at least £30,000 and could have got even more from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian MP and alleged Russian asset. The offences took place when Gill was an MEP in 2018-19, having been elected as one of the Ukip group led by Farage, and later joining the Brexit party.

Voloshyn remains under investigation and wanted for high treason in Ukraine, but is now believed to be in Moscow.

The political fallout from the case also appeared to widen yesterday when it emerged Gill had been paid to arrange for other Brexit party and former Ukip MEPS to make pro-Russia statements, without their awareness.

The statements by Gill in the European parliament and on 112 Ukraine, a pro-Russia television channel, were designed to benefit the Kremlin's narrative on Ukraine in the period before Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.