First minister backs calls for Russian interference investigation
Nathan Gill was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in jail last Friday
- Published
Wales' first minister Eluned Morgan has backed calls for an investigation into Russian interference in British politics after Nathan Gill was jailed for bribery.
Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison last week for accepting money to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament and on Ukrainian TV.
Morgan said the Welsh Parliament was "appalled" at Gill's crimes, and assured members that work was ongoing to protect next year's parliamentary elections from foreign meddling.
Meanwhile, Reform's deputy leader insisted its support for Ukraine had been "rock-solid" as his party continues to face political attacks over the case.
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Gill, 52, of Anglesey, was briefly a member of the Welsh Parliament in 2016 and 2017, as well as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2014 to 2020.
He had sought re-election to the Senedd at the 2021 election as leader of Reform UK in Wales, but the party performed poorly.
In the Senedd on Tuesday, Welsh Conservative MS Tom Giffard said the case was "sickening", and said he was concerned Reform UK "is a party that is not taking this seriously enough".
He asked if the first minister supported calls for a "full and proper investigation into Russian interference in British politics".
Welsh Labour first minister Morgan said: "Look, I think there is a case to be made for that - I really do.
"We've got to be vigilant, and I do think that this is an area that merits some investigation."
Labour MS Alun Davies said there had already been an inquiry into Russian influence in politics: "It was commissioned by Boris Johnson, who then refused to publish it".
He called on the first minister to write to the UK government and ask for it to be published.
Davies said he asked the presiding officer of the Senedd, Elin Jones, for an inquiry into whether any "public resources here were used to support the activities of this Russian asset".
Morgan said: "I do think we have to take this seriously. I do hope the UK government takes it seriously."
The Senedd is yet to comment on the case. The Metropolitan Police said last week there was no evidence of criminal activity linked to Gill's time in the Senedd.
Bribes, Lies and the British Politician
Why did a politician who claimed to love his country accept bribes to make statements in support of Russia?
Mick Antoniw, the Welsh-Ukrainian Labour Senedd member for Pontypridd, said an UK government inquiry should look at "the people that are involved, and those who actually are seeking to influence and undermine our democratic processes".
Eluned Morgan said she had been reassured by UK security minister Dan Jarvis that a taskforce set up to address threats of foreign interference in democratic institutions is "going to apply equal importance to the Senedd elections".
She later added the Welsh government was "working closely with the UK government security services".
Reform under pressure in Commons
Reform came under fire in the UK Parliament on Tuesday as the party faced renewed calls from the prime minister to internally investigate how Gill took bribes to help pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and other MPs demanded the party holds its own inquiry.
The prime minister said: "That is extraordinary. Reform leadership should have the courage to launch an investigation. How on earth did that happen in their party? And what other links are there?"
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform, said the prime minister was talking "nonsense" and called Putin a "vile dictator".
"May I remind the house that last year I personally donated a five-figure sum, bought a pickup truck, filled it with first aid supplies, and drove it with other friends and colleagues to Ukraine, and donated it to the brave soldiers of Ukraine," he said.
"So my support, and Reform's support for Ukraine has been rock solid, prime minister, throughout."
Badenoch said: "It is a disgrace that Reform are still blaming Nato for Russia's aggression."
At a rally on Monday in Llandudno, Reform's leader Nigel Farage said Gill's bribes were an "absolute and total disgrace".
Asked by BBC Wales if he would hold an investigation into his own party, Farage said: "I'm not a police force, I haven't got the resources".
Farage has previously said he had no knowledge of Gill's "shameful activities" and condemned them "in every possible way".