Nathan Gill’s actions were “treasonous” but people should not “besmirch everyone else at Reform”, the party’s head of policy Zia Yusuf has said.
Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, was jailed for 10 and a half years last week after he admitted accepting tens of thousands of pounds in cash to make pro-Russian statements to the media and European Parliament.
Asked by Sky News’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips if the case showed the party was soft on President Vladimir Putin, Mr Yusuf said that would be an “incredibly unreasonable position to take”.
He said: “Nathan Gill, what he did was treasonous, it was horrific, it was awful. He’s been dealt with by the authorities and he deserves the sentence that he got.”
He added: “As far as we’re concerned he is ancient history. I’ve never met him, I had never heard about him until I saw he was in the newspapers. It is unreasonable to besmirch Reform and the millions of people around the country who support Nigel and support our party.”
Gill, 52, was announced as the leader of Reform UK in Wales in March 2021, but quit the party a few months later after he failed to be elected to the Senedd.
He previously led the Welsh wing of UKIP (UK Independence Party) between 2014 and 2016, then ran by Nigel Farage, and was a member of the Senedd between 2016 and 2017, as well as an MEP between 2014 and 2020.
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Gill left UKIP in 2019 to join Mr Farage’s new Brexit Party – later rebranded as Reform UK.
Following an investigation by counter-terrorism police, officers said they believe Gill likely took a minimum of £40,000 in cash.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer demanded an investigation into links between Reform UK and Russia following the case.
Mr Farage’s position on Russia has come under scrutiny in the past. He faced a backlash during the general election campaign when he spoke about the incursion of NATO and how “we provoked this war” in Ukraine.
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Speaking to Trevor Phillips, Mr Yusuf insisted his boss has never supported or been sympathetic to Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine, saying it is “not Nigel’s position that ‘we provoked the war’.”
He said: “When he [Farage] was pressed as to how he would respond if he was prime minister and Russian jets encroached into NATO airspace, his view was that those planes should be shot down. We are crystal clear about our position.
“I would also say this: the notion that Vladimir Putin, the murderous dictator, is making decisions based on what Nigel Farage is saying here in England, I think is for the birds.
“We are now in a situation where Ukraine’s sovereignty has been violated, and Vladimir Putin needs to be brought to heel.”
But Labour accused Reform of “pandering to Moscow” following the interview.
Anna Turley, chair of the Labour Party, said Mr Farage has previously called Mr Putin “the leader he most admired and has repeatedly parroted Kremlin talking points”.
She added: “Reform must urgently allow an independent investigation to root out pro-Russia links, to assure the public that Putin holds no sway over their party or its representatives.”
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Police have confirmed Mr Farage has not been part of the investigation into Gill.
Mr Farage said on Friday: “An investigation into Russian and Chinese influence over British politics would be welcome.”
The Reform UK MP for Clacton had previously described his former colleague as a “bad apple” and said he was “shocked” after Gill pleaded guilty to bribery.
He said: “Any political party can find in their midst all sorts of terrible people.
“You can never, ever guarantee 100% that everyone you meet in your life, you shake hands with in the pub, is a good person.”
