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 NovemberAfter admitting that he took bribes for pro-Russian interviews and speeches while he was a Member of the European Parliament (EP).
Announcing the review, Communities Minister Steve Reed said the government must “learn the lesson” from the case so “this never happens again”.
The review will be led by former senior civilian Philip Rycroft and will report back in March.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Reed said: “The facts are clear. A British politician took a bribe to support the interests of the Russian regime, which forcibly deported defenseless Ukrainian children and killed a British citizen on British soil using a lethal nerve agent.”
“This behavior is a stain on our democracy. The independent review will work to remove this stain.”
At the beginning of this year the government published its strategy For “modern and secure elections” that Reed said would “close loopholes that needed to be closed long before he took office.”
“However, events since the publication of this strategy have shown that we need to evaluate whether our firewall is adequate,” he added.
The government said the review would “conduct an in-depth assessment of existing fiscal rules and measures and provide recommendations to further reduce risks from external political interference.”
He described the review as “a response to the evolving threat posed by political interference to British democracy, including the shocking cases of former MPs Nathan Gill and Christine Lee”.
In 2022, MI5 issued a rare warning alleging Ms Lee was a Chinese agent who had infiltrated Parliament and donated to politicians.
Ms Lee has previously said the MI5 alert “falsely 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 a member of parliament when he accepted money from Oleg Voloshyn, once described by the US government as a “pawn” of Russian secret services.
Gill was an MP for UKIP and the Brexit Party before joining Reform UK, where she briefly served as leader in Wales until May 2021.
At the time of Gill’s conviction, Reform UK said it was pleased justice had been served and described his actions as “reprehensible, treacherous and inexcusable”.
Responding to Reed’s statement in the House of Commons, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said his party welcomed the review but called on the government to also examine China’s influence on Labour.
