UK Gov launches investigation into foreign money in politics
It comes after Nathan Gill was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for taking money to make pro-Russian statements
Last updated 16th Dec 2025
The UK Government has launched an independent review of foreign financial interference in UK politics, after the jailing of a former MEP for taking Russian bribes.
Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said the conduct of Nathan Gill, who was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for taking money to make pro-Russian statements, was a "stain" on British democracy.
Nathan Gill served as Reform UK's leader in Wales:
Gill was an MEP for Ukip and the Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage, before joining Reform UK under Mr Farage, where he served as its leader in Wales.
Mr Reed told MPs that the review would be chaired by former top civil servant Philip Rycroft, who had worked in the Cabinet Office and Department for Exiting the EU under previous Conservative governments.
He said: "Following discussions with ministerial colleagues, I have today ordered an independent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics.
"This will be led by the former permanent secretary Philip Rycroft, reporting both to me as secretary of state responsible for elections and to the minister of state for security (Dan Jarvis) as the chair of the defending democracy taskforce.
"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."