Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf seemed to be easily rattled as he was asked about Nathan Gill’s conviction.
Yusuf and Flynn were both guests on LBC on Wednesday when the pair clashed over the recent conviction of Gill, who was the former leader of Reform in Wales.
Last week, Gill was sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in prison for taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia while a Member of the European Parliament for UKIP and later the Brexit Party.
There is now pressure on Reform and its senior figures over whether any Russian links or influence remain in his party.
During the LBC programme, Flynn said Yusuf hadn’t provided an explanation about Gill. This prompted anger from Yusuf, who said he had never met Gill and dismissed his significance.
Yusuf said Gill had only been Reform’s leader in Wales for 43 days when the party was ‘polling at 1%,’ as he seemed to argue this lessened the relevance of his conviction.
Flynn told an increasingly tetchy Yusuf that he “can’t just pretend this hasn’t happened.”
Sharing the exchange on X, Flynn suggested Yusuf had been “easily rattled” after he was asked about Gill.
Earlier in the show, Yusuf had reacted with bemusement when he was asked by host Shelagh Fogarty if Reform’s leader Nigel Farage was a “Russian asset.”
This was after chancellor Rachel Reeves had joked about this during her Budget speech.
As Fogarty asked Yusuf the question, he replied: “You know the answer to that question and I take exception to you asking me that question.”
“Are you seriously asking if Nigel Farage is a Russian asset,” Yusuf said, to which Fogarty replied: “Yeah.”
A furious Yusuf claimed this was “deeply offensive to the millions of British people who support Reform.”
The question was a pertinent one given that Gill served as a MEP for UKIP and the Brexit Party when Farage was leader of both parties, and was regularly pictured with the Clacton MP.
This week, more than 70,000 have signed a petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on British politics and democracy.
The petition states: “We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaigns in the UK.
“We believe recent events underscore the urgency of this issue.”