Minister orders probe into foreign financial interference in UK politics

The government has ordered an independent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics in response to what it called the “shocking” case of Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales.

Gill was jailed in November, after admitting to taking bribes for pro-Russian interviews and speeches when he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Announcing the review, Communities Secretary Steve Reed said the government must “learn the lessons” from the case so “this can never happen again”.

The review will be led by former senior civil Philip Rycroft and will report back in March.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Reed said: “The facts are clear. A British politician took bribes to further the interests of the Russian regime, a regime which forcefully deported vulnerable Ukrainian children and killed a British citizen on British soil using a deadly nerve agent.

“This conduct is a stain on our democracy. The independent review will work to remove that stain.”

Earlier this year the government published its strategy for “modern and secure elections”, which Reed said “will close loopholes that should have been closed long before we entered office”.

“However, in the time since that strategy was published, events have shown that we need to consider whether our firewall is enough,” he added.

The government said the review would conduct an “in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards and offer recommendations to further mitigate risks from foreign political interference”.

It described the review as “a response to the evolving threat posed by political interference to British democracy, including the shocking cases of former MEP Nathan Gill and Christine Lee”.

In 2022, MI5 issued a rare warning alleging that Ms Lee was a Chinese agent who infiltrated Parliament and made donations to politicians.

Ms Lee has previously said the MI5 alert “wrongly accused her of knowingly engaging in political interference” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

Last month, Gill became the first politician to be jailed under the Bribery Act.

He is thought to have received up to £40,000 to help pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

He was an MEP when he accepted money from Oleg Voloshyn, a man once described by the US government as a “pawn” of Russian secret services.

Gill was an MEP for UKIP and the Brexit Party, before joining Reform UK, where he served for a brief period as its leader in Wales until May 2021.

At the time of Gill’s conviction Reform UK said it was glad justice was served, calling his actions “reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable”.

Responding to Reed’s statement in the Commons, Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said his party welcomed the review but called on the government to also make sure it looked into the influence of China on the Labour Party.