A former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales has been sentenced to over 10 years in prison for accepting thousands of euros from a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine. Nathan Gill, 52, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019 and was handed down a sentence of 10 years and six months.
Gill's conduct was deemed to have "fundamentally compromised the integrity of a supranational legislative body" by Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb. The judge described Gill's actions as having involved "scripted material presented as his own", with the MEP being used to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament at the behest of foreign nationals.
Gill was first elected to the European Parliament as a UKIP candidate, but later represented the Brexit Party before leaving when the UK left the EU. The scandal has raised questions about Nigel Farage's handling of his former colleague's actions, with some accusing him of being soft on Russia despite global condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine.
The case is likely to have significant implications for Reform UK, which is currently topping several public opinion polls in the UK. The party's leader, Nigel Farage, has denied any knowledge of Gill's missteps and stated that he was pleased that "justice has been served".
Gill's conduct was deemed to have "fundamentally compromised the integrity of a supranational legislative body" by Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb. The judge described Gill's actions as having involved "scripted material presented as his own", with the MEP being used to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament at the behest of foreign nationals.
Gill was first elected to the European Parliament as a UKIP candidate, but later represented the Brexit Party before leaving when the UK left the EU. The scandal has raised questions about Nigel Farage's handling of his former colleague's actions, with some accusing him of being soft on Russia despite global condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine.
The case is likely to have significant implications for Reform UK, which is currently topping several public opinion polls in the UK. The party's leader, Nigel Farage, has denied any knowledge of Gill's missteps and stated that he was pleased that "justice has been served".
this guy Nathan Gill is getting like 10 years and six months 
for just taking money from some pro-Russian dude? It seems kinda harsh but I guess if you're trying to influence people's opinions in the EU, it can't be right 
. The judge said he compromised the integrity of a whole legislative body... that's like, super serious stuff 
. And what's with Nigel Farage not saying anything about this sooner? Shouldn't he have known about his colleague's shady dealings? 
& then make a mockery of the EU parliament 
it raises more questions tho about Farage's leadership skills, especially since reform uk's doing so well in polls atm 
is he gonna take responsibility for his own people's actions or just sweep this under the rug like always 
and btw what happened to gill's integrity 
the timing of this scandal is also super suspicious it just dropped right as reform uk was getting ahead in the polls 
does anyone really trust nigel farage now? 
It's like, I've heard of people getting away with smaller stuff and still facing the consequences. This seems kinda harsh. Also, what's up with Nigel Farage's reaction to this whole thing? 
The fact that Nigel Farage isn't exactly squeaky clean on this too is super suspicious tho 
I'm so disappointed to hear about Nathan Gill getting 10 years and 6 months for taking thousands of euros from a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine. It's like, you'd think he'd know better than to compromise his integrity like that. And it raises some serious questions about Nigel Farage's leadership - if he knew all along and didn't do anything about it, does that mean he was complicit too? 
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. But for now, at least justice has been served, and that's something to be thankful for 
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. nigel farage needs 2 explain why he didnt do anything abt this when he was his party leader 
. i wonder wut the future holds 4 them 
reform uk's reputation is taking a hit, hope they get their act together soon 
Did they really not see this coming? 
this whole thing is just so depressing. Like, how could someone do that to their own party and country? 
They were already gaining momentum in the polls and now this scandal might be enough to tank them completely 
The question on everyone's mind is: what's next for Reform UK? Will they survive this fallout or get dismantled like all the other Brexit parties before them 