Keir Starmer has ordered a probe into foreign financial interference in British politics after a former top Reform politician was jailed for taking Russian bribes.
Nathan Gill, the party's ex-leader in Wales, was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison last month for taking bribes to spout pro-Russia lines in interviews and speeches in the European Parliament. Gill was an MEP for Ukip and the Brexit Party, both led by Nigel Farage, from 2014 to 2020, before becoming Reform's leader in Wales in 2021. He quit after failing to win a seat in the 2021 Senedd election.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed said the case was a "stain on our democracy" as he set out plans for an independent probe. He told MPs: "An elected politician took bribes to parrot the lies of a hostile state responsible for the death of Dawn Sturgess, a British citizen on British soil. He took the side of those responsible for invading a sovereign European state and he was prosecuted while Putin's military targeted the men, women and children of Ukraine.
"At the time he sat as a member of the European Parliament, supposedly representing the British people and went on to become a senior leader of a UK political party." He added: "This conduct is a stain on our democracy. The independent review will work to remove that stain."
Philip Rycroft, a former top mandarin, has been tasked with leading the investigation into foreign money in British politics, which will report back next year. It will assess current financial rules and safeguards, and offer recommendations to mitigate risks from foreign political interference.
It comes after the Government published a strategy earlier this year to protect elections from interference. Mr Reed said the blueprint was designed to close long-standing loopholes in the system. But today he said: "In the time since that strategy was published, events have shown that we need to consider whether our firewall is enough."
The move will place pressure on Mr Farage, who last month ruled out investigating Russian influences in his party as he said Reform are "not a police force”. But he welcomed the idea of a UK-wide probe, saying: "I think that's right, and I think there are doubts on all sides right at the moment, so I think that would be a good thing to do."
The Reform leader previously called Gill a "bad apple". He said: "Any political party can find in their midst all sorts of terrible people... Gill is particularly shocking because I knew him as a devout Christian, very clean-living, honest person. So I’m deeply shocked."
Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, was paid at least £40,000 by former Ukrainian MP Oleg Voloshyn, who was described as a "pawn" of the Russian security services by the US Government.
Voloshyn was doing the bidding of Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Putin who owned pro-Russia TV network 112 Ukraine. Medvechuk was accused by Ukraine of high treason. He sent to Russia in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap.
Rose Zussman, Senior Policy Manager at Transparency International UK, said: "The government's urgent review into foreign interference in UK politics is a welcome recognition of the serious threat that hostile foreign actors pose to our democracy, though some of these issues are already well-known and can be addressed sooner.
"It's clear there are a range of actors seeking to buy influence in our democracy, including foreign governments, and for relatively small amounts of money."
She called for a cap on political donations in the upcoming elections bill to break the stranglehold of big money on British politics. She said: "In the dash for cash, politicians risk turning a blind eye to donors’ dubious backgrounds, providing a clear route for those without Britain’s interests at heart to buy access and influence in politics."