Keir Starmer has humorously targeted Reform UK by referencing the party’s former leader in Wales who was found guilty of accepting Russian bribes. During his final PMQs session for 2025, the Prime Minister extended Christmas wishes to MPs and parliamentary staff before directing a jibe towards Nigel Farage’s party.
In a spirited moment in the Commons, Mr. Starmer quipped, “A little festive advice to those in Reform. If mysterious men from the East bearing gifts show up, remember to report it to the police this time.” The remark elicited laughter from MPs, including Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, who reacted animatedly. Although Mr. Farage seemed displeased about his speaking time in PMQs, he was spotted in the public gallery shaking his head in response.
The comment followed the sentencing of Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform in Wales, to a 10-and-a-half-year prison term for accepting bribes to promote pro-Russia propaganda in speeches and interviews in the European Parliament. Gill had previously served as an MEP for UKIP and the Brexit Party under Mr. Farage’s leadership before leading Reform in Wales in 2021, a position he resigned from after failing to secure a seat in the 2021 Senedd election.
Gill, aged 52 and hailing from Anglesey, North Wales, received payments of at least £40,000 from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian MP described as a proxy of the Russian security services by the US Government.
In response to Gill’s conviction, Prime Minister Starmer initiated an investigation into foreign financial interference in British politics. Communities Secretary Steve Reed condemned the case as a “blight on our democracy” and outlined plans for an independent inquiry.
Mr. Reed addressed MPs, denouncing the act of an elected official accepting bribes to endorse false narratives from an adversarial state, alluding to the death of Dawn Sturgess on British soil and Russia’s actions in Ukraine. He emphasized the need for the independent review to rectify the damage caused by such conduct.
While Mr. Farage dismissed probing Russian influences within Reform, he supported a nationwide investigation, stating the importance of addressing doubts from all sides.