It is “inconceivable” that Nigel Farage was unaware of Nathan Gill’s pro-Russia statements during his time as an MEP, according to insiders.
Last month, Gill was convicted on eight counts of bribery for taking payments to make statements in favour of Russia while he was a Member of the European Parliament.
Gill, who was also Reform’s former leader in Wales, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019. He took payments from a pro-Russian Ukrainian MP and close associate of one of Putin’s closest allies, Viktor Medvedchuk.
More than two weeks after his conviction, Farage came out and said he was “stunned” by Gill’s conviction, and claimed he was the “only one” in Reform who “really knew” him.
However, a report from Byline Times has said it is “inconceivable” that Farage wasn’t aware of Gill’s pro-Russian statements, according to insiders.
Photos show the Reform leader pictured with Nadia Borodi, a correspondent of a pro-Russian TV channel and wife of the man who paid Gill to make pro-Russian statement, Oleh Voloshyn. Borodi worked for Channel 112, owned by close Putin ally and pro-Russian Ukrainian MP Viktor Medvedchuk.
On one occasion, Farage took a photo with Borodi outside the European Parliament on the same day she had interviewed Gill for Channel 112 after he had spoken in parliament criticising Ukraine for threatening to ban the channel.
Byline Times reports that on “apparently the same day” Borodi took another picture of Farage holding a Brexit t-shirt reading “leave and let die.” According to sources, this picture was taken in Gill’s office.
Here Farage is, in Gill’s office, with Oleh Voloshyn’s wife Nadia, on the day Gill makes an intervention on behalf of Medvedchuk’s channels, with an employee of one of those channels, whose husband just started bribing Gill to make these statements six days earlier. It strains credibility to believe that Farage did not ask who this woman was and – given the subsequent photograph in Gill’s office – was not aware of Nathan Gill’s statements in defence of her and her boss Medvedchuk’s TV stations in the EU Parliament that day.
“Here Farage is, in Gill’s office, with Voloshyn’s wife Nadia, on the day Gill makes an intervention on behalf of Medvedchuk’s channels, with an employee of one of those channels, whose husband started bribing Gill to make these statements 6 days earlier”https://t.co/5MtmOXeNSU
Doubts have also been raised over Farage’s claim he was the only person in Reform who knew Gill.
During their time at the Brexit Party, Gill and deputy Reform leader Richard Tice reportedly worked closely together, and footage shows Tice introducing Gill at a Brexit Party event, speaking glowingly about his then colleague.
Here is Nigel Farage claiming to @TeleriGlynJones that he’s the only senior figure in Reform who has ever met Gill.
And here is Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice introducing Gill in glowing terms. pic.twitter.com/3vClzToekM
