Urgent probe into foreign interference in UK politics after ex-Reform politician jailed for pro-Russian bribes
The government has launched an independent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics after a former Reform MP was jailed for accepting bribes from Russia.
Nathan Gill, the former Reform Party leader in Wales, was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison last month after admitting he was paid £40,000 to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament; It was behavior that housing minister Steve Reed described as a “stain on our democracy”.
Announcing the review in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Mr Reed said the government must now consider whether the firewall is sufficient to protect the country from election interference.
The housing minister said the inquiry, due to report at the end of March, will examine existing financial rules on donations and electoral guarantees and make recommendations.
The review will be chaired by former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft, who worked in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Exiting the EU under previous Conservative governments.
The review will also look at implementing measures against illicit financial flows, including cryptocurrencies.
Coming in a few days Independent It has been revealed that the Electoral Commission has been asked to investigate cryptocurrency donations to Reform UK.
The party announced earlier this year that it would be the first British party to accept political donations in cryptocurrency, following Donald Trump’s US campaign as an example.
Addressing the House of Commons, the housing secretary said: “Following discussions with colleagues in the Department, I have today ordered an independent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics.
“This will be led by former permanent secretary Philip Rycroft, who reports both to me as secretary of state for elections and to the secretary of state for security (Dan Jarvis) as chairman of the working group defending democracy.
“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 seek to remove this stain.”
“We published our strategy for modern and secure elections earlier this year. This will close loopholes that needed to be closed long before we took office.”
“However, events since the publication of this strategy have shown that we need to evaluate whether our firewall is adequate.”
Abuse investigations will remain the responsibility of the police and the Electoral Commission, not the inquiry.
