Former MEP Nathan Gill pleads guilty to eight bribery counts

Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales and a one-time member of the European Parliament, pleaded guilty on Friday to eight counts of bribery for making statements in favour of Russia while serving as an MEP for Wales. The admissions, entered at the Old Bailey, covered conduct alleged to have taken place between December 6, 2018 and July 18, 2019 and relate to payments he agreed to accept in return for specific pro-Russian commentary in the European Parliament and in opinion pieces to outlets such as 112 Ukraine.

Prosecutors told the court that Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, was tasked on at least eight occasions by Ukrainian national Oleg Voloshyn to make particular statements that would benefit Russia’s narrative about events in Ukraine. The charges said that by accepting money to make those statements Gill committed improper performance of his functions as an elected representative. Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said the guilty pleas were satisfactory because the bribery counts accurately reflected the criminal conduct set out by the Crown.

Gill denied a separate charge of conspiracy to commit bribery at the same hearing. That allegation, covering the period...