Three more British MEPs from Nigel Farage’s bloc are alleged to have “followed the script” given to a colleague who was being bribed by an alleged Russian asset, according to prosecutors, as a police investigation into the affair continues.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has named Jonathan Bullock, Julia Reid and Steven Woolfe, saying they followed the script provided to Nathan Gill by Oleg Voloshyn when giving interviews to 112 Ukraine, a pro-Russian TV channel in March 2019.
In all, at least eight MEPs elected for either Ukip or the Brexit party are now known to have been the focus of efforts by Reform UK’s former Wales leader Gill to co-opt them into fulfilling tasks set for him by his Kremlin paymasters.
The claims that the three followed Gill’s talking points – disclosed in CPS documents in Gill’s case – are among those which have raised fresh questions over the extent of Gill’s influence since his jailing last month. There is no suggestion that any of the three committed criminal acts or had been aware Gill took bribes to promote Russian interests.
Amid the continuing police investigation, the Labour party has called on Farage to voluntarily offer to help investigators, who have already spoken to MEPs he led in the European parliament.
The chair of the Labour party, Anna Turley MP, said: “He must order an urgent investigation into pro-Russia links in Reform, and he should voluntarily go to the police for interview and help them with their inquiries.”
Last week, another former leading member of the group of MEPs headed by Farage denied taking money as part of a campaign to promote Russian interests.
David Coburn, who was also the leader of Ukip in Scotland for four years, was mentioned in WhatsApp messages between Gill and Voloshyn – a former Ukrainian MEP who is accused of the bribery – that were released by prosecutors.
The messages showed Gill and Voloshyn apparently discussing how much should be set aside for Coburn, who was also an MEP for Reform UK’s precursor the Brexit party. Coburn denied taking any payment when confronted by BBC journalists outside his home in France.
The messages were sent in April 2019 before a meeting at the European parliament of the editorial board of 112 Ukraine, whose membership included Gill and Coburn, and which was connected to Viktor Medvedchuk, Vladimir Putin’s ally in Ukraine.
Jonathan Bullock (centre) leaving the European parliament holding a union jack on 31 January 2020. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images
Bullock rejected any wrongdoing on his part when the Guardian approached him, saying that the comments he made to 112 Ukraine about the sovereignty of nation states were normal in the context of his role as an energy spokesperson.
A transcript of Bullock’s comments to the channel record that he stated: “I do think that it’s much better for nation states to act individually, so Ukraine’s to do what’s best in Ukraine’s interest and likewise we in western Europe and in the United Kingdom, for example, to do what we would like.”
Contacted by the Guardian, Bullock said that he was a known critic of Russia, adding: “My comment was a standard run-of-the-mill answer from me which I connected with my energy views on UK choices relating to nuclear power and renewables.”
Steven Woolfe. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Media
Woolfe declined to comment when approached by the Guardian. However, a friend said that police had never contacted or investigated the former MEP.
“He does feel personally appalled by the way he and others have been dragged into it but the reality is he has nothing to hide,” they added.
It is understood that Gill had appealed to Woolfe’s interest in free speech, knowing that this was an issue the then MEP for North West England was particularly interested in.
Reid did not respond to requests for comment.
The former head of Gill’s office in Brussels, Ethan Wilkinson, has also denied to the Guardian that he received any payment, after documents released by the CPS showed Voloshyn suggesting he should be rewarded with “3k euro” for his “fieldwork”.
“I was Nathan’s head of office in Brussels and I recall submitting paperwork in relation to ‘mission’ expenses and resolutions for the EFDD group, all of which I genuinely believed were legitimate activities of an MEP who was advocating for free speech/expression/freedom of the press,” he said, referring to the Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European parliament.
“I didn’t receive any payment from Mr Voloshyn,” said Wilkinson, who went on to work for the TaxPayer’s Alliance and was also a Conservative party local election candidate.
“I had no idea that he was a Russian intelligence asset, I had no idea Nathan was being paid by him or anybody else to carry out this work, and I fully cooperated in the Met police investigation into Mr Gill as a witness, including sharing WhatsApp conversations etc.”
Other MEPs elected for either Ukip or the Brexit party who were named in the CPS note include Jonathan Arnott, who visited Ukraine with Gill on an October 2018 trip.
During the visit, Coburn, Gill and Arnott appeared on camera in interviews with 112 Ukraine and all made similar statements six weeks later during a debate in the European parliament on 11 December that touched on press freedom in Ukraine and the question of whether it should be allowed to join the EU.
Arnott spoke to the police as a potential witness, the Guardian understands. He has rejected any suggestion that he had links to Russia or was acting in its interests.
Alex Phillips, who was a Brexit party MEP, told the Guardian last month she had voluntarily gone to speak to the police when she learned of the investigation into Gill.
The CPS note states Gill had promised his handler Voloshyn that he would “get Alex [Phillips]” to speak, although this does not appear to have happened and Phillips has since stressed that she was outspoken in her hostility to Putin.
Another Brexit party MEP, James Wells, was named in the CPS notes in the context of a fresh intervention by Gill in September 2019. The notes state Gill asked Voloshyn to send him lines to take in a European parliament subcommittee on human rights. WhatsApp messages indicate Gill had commented in the media afterwards and “secured the cooperation” of Wells.
Gill reported that he had taken Wells out for dinner as a thank you, to which Voloshyn replied: “Wonderful! We owe you for that.”
Wells, who has accused Gill of dragging colleagues into his activities without their knowledge, has told the Guardian: “I had no knowledge of what Gill was up to at the time. The police did not require an interview with me after I had a short call with them, so there is no question about my innocence.”
