Former Reform in Wales leader Nathan Gill jailed for pro-Russian bribery

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50% : Watch the moment Nathan Gill was sentencedVoloshyn also tasked Gill with finding other MEPs to speak to 112, and gave him talking points to pass on to them.The court heard Gill mainly enlisted MEPs from the UK but also some from Germany and France.Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told the court there was no evidence they knew of Gill's financial motivation.Police have said there was no evidence Gill was paying others.In texts obtained by police, Voloshyn said he would "request and secure at least 5K" for Gill if he got "three or four" others on board.Gill responded: "I shall do my best."Met PoliceGill was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison at the Old BaileyGill also hosted Medvedchuk at the European Parliament's base in Strasbourg to promote a so-called "peace plan" for the Donbas region - an event that was praised by Vladimir Putin the following day on Russian TV.Voloshyn asked Gill to arrange for colleagues from the Brexit Party to attend, the court heard.Prosecution barrister Mark Heywood KC said Voloshyn asked Gill to book a room.
45% : The court heard an application to recover £30,000 from Gill, but police think he could have made up to £40,000.The earliest offence Gill pleaded guilty to dates to the same day he left UKIP in 2018.He continued taking bribes after joining Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party.
42% : Gill is the first politician to be jailed under the Bribery Act.Reform UK said it was glad justice was served, calling his actions "reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable".Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused Gill of "undermining our interests as a country" and called on Reform leader Nigel Farage to investigate what other links the party had with Russia.Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Police's counter-terrorism team, said Gill was an "extraordinarily willing participant" in the bribery, describing his actions as a "threat to national security".He said the case formed part of a "breadth of activity" by Russia, including incidents such as the Salisbury poisonings in 2018 and an arson attack in London in 2024.Gill, who was an MEP from 2014 to 2020 - initially for UKIP and then the Brexit Party - pleaded guilty to eight charges of bribery at an earlier hearing in March.In return for money he gave two TV interviews to 112 Ukraine in support of Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who faced treason proceedings at the time.Medvedchuk was arrested by Ukrainian authorities at the start of the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion, and was later swapped with Moscow in a prisoner exchange.Medvedchuk was connected to two TV channels - 112 and NewsOne - which in 2018 and 2019 were under threat of closure by the Ukrainian authorities.Gill gave two speeches defending the channels in the European Parliament, both on request from Voloshyn, whose wife was a presenter on 112 Ukraine.Both channels were eventually taken off air in 2021.

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