Three more Farage bloc MEPs alleged to have followed Russian asset’s script | Reform UK

While the police investigation into the incident continues, three more British MPs from Nigel Farage’s bloc are allegedly “following the script” given to a colleague bribed by an alleged Russian entity, according to prosecutors.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) named Jonathan Bullock, Julia Reid and Steven Woolfe when giving an interview to 112 Ukraine, a pro-Russian TV channel, in March 2019, telling Nathan Gill they were following a script provided by Oleg Voloshyn.

In total, at least eight MPs elected for the Ukip or Brexit party are now known to be the focus of efforts by Gill, the former Welsh leader of Reform England, to enlist them to carry out tasks set for him by his Kremlin paymasters.

Allegations in Gill’s case that three men identified in CPS documents monitored Gill’s talking points are among allegations that have raised new questions about the extent of Gill’s influence since he was jailed last month. There is no suggestion that he committed any of the three crimes or that Gill was aware of accepting bribes to support Russian interests.

Amid the ongoing police investigation, Labor has called on Farage to voluntarily offer assistance to investigators who have already met with MPs he leads in the European Parliament.

Labor leader Anna Turley MP said: “He should order an urgent investigation into pro-Russian links in Reform and voluntarily go to the police for questioning and assist them with their investigation.”

Last week, another former leading member of the group of MEPs chaired by Farage refused to accept money as part of a campaign to promote Russian interests.

David Coburn, who also led Ukip in Scotland for four years, was also named in WhatsApp messages between Gill and former Ukrainian MP Voloshyn, who is accused of bribery, and was released by prosecutors.

The messages appeared to show Gill and Voloshyn discussing how much money should be set aside for Coburn, who is also an MP for the Brexit party leading Reform England. coburn refused to take any payment When he confronted BBC journalists outside his home in France.

The messages were sent in April 2019, before a meeting in the European Parliament of the editorial board of 112 Ukraine, whose members include Gill and Coburn and are affiliated with Viktor Medvedchuk, Vladimir Putin’s ally in Ukraine.

Bullock denied any wrongdoing when contacted by the Guardian and told 112 Ukraine that his comments about the sovereignty of nation states were normal in the context of his role as energy spokesman.

A transcript of Bullock’s comments on the channel recording stated: “I think it’s much better for nation states to act individually, so Ukraine should do what’s in Ukraine’s best interests, and likewise we in Western Europe and the United Kingdom, for example, should do what we want.”

Contacted by the Guardian, Bullock said he was a known critic of Russia, adding: “My comment was a standard run-of-the-mill response that I associate with my energy views on the UK’s choices on nuclear power and renewable energy.”

Woolfe declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian. But a friend said police never contacted or investigated the former MP.

“He is personally horrified that he and others have been dragged into this situation, but the truth is that he has nothing to hide,” they added.

Gill is understood to have appealed to Woolfe’s interest in freedom of expression, knowing it was an issue the then MP for North West England was particularly interested in.

Reid did not respond to requests for comment.

Ethan Wilkinson, the former head of Gill’s office in Brussels, also denied receiving any payment to the Guardian after documents released by the CPS showed he suggested Voloshyn should be rewarded “€3,000” for “field work”.

“I was head of Nathan’s office in Brussels and I remember handing over paperwork for the EFDD group regarding ‘mission’ expenses and decisions, all of which I truly believed were legitimate activities of an MP defending freedom of speech/expression/press,” he said, referring to the Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament.

“I have not received any payment from Mr Voloshyn,” said Wilkinson, who continues to work for the TaxPayer’s Alliance and is also a local election candidate for the Conservative party.

“I had no idea that he was a Russian intelligence operative, I had no idea that Nathan had been paid by him or anyone else to carry out the work, and I cooperated fully as a witness with the Met police’s investigation into Mr Gill, including sharing WhatsApp conversations etc.”

Other MPs elected for the Ukip or Brexit party and named in the CPS memo include Jonathan Arnott, who visited Ukraine with Gill on an October 2018 trip.

During the visit, Coburn, Gill and Arnott appeared on camera in interviews with 112 Ukraine, and six weeks later, on December 11, they made similar statements during a debate in the European parliament touching on press freedom in Ukraine and whether it should be allowed to join the EU.

The Guardian understands Arnott spoke to police as a potential witness. He rejected any suggestion that he had ties to Russia or was acting in Russia’s interests.

Alex Phillips, a Brexit party MP, told the Guardian last month that he voluntarily went to speak to police when he learned of the investigation into Gill.

The CPS memo states that Gill promised his handler, Voloshyn, that he would “get Alex.” [Phillips]Although this does not appear to have happened, Phillips has since emphasized that he has publicly expressed his hostility towards Putin.

Another Brexit party MP, James Wells, is also named in the CPS notes in the context of Gill’s new intervention in September 2019. The notes state that Gill asked Voloshyn to send him lines about joining the European Parliament’s human rights subcommittee. WhatsApp messages show Gill later commented in the media and “secured cooperation” with Wells.

Gill reported that she took Wells out to dinner to thank him, to which Voloshyn responded: “Great! We owe you for that.”

Wells, who accused Gill of dragging his colleagues into his activities without their knowledge, told the Guardian: “I had no knowledge of what Gill was doing at the time. After a brief conversation with them the police did not request to interview me, so there is no doubt as to my innocence.”