Keir Starmer brought humor to his final PMQs of 2025 by poking fun at Reform UK, specifically referencing the party’s former leader in Wales who was implicated in a scandal involving Russian bribes.
During the session, Starmer jokingly advised members of Reform UK to report any suspicious individuals bearing gifts from the East to the police, prompting laughter across the Commons. The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, reacted animatedly to the jest, while Nigel Farage, visibly displeased about his speaking time in PMQs, watched from the public gallery.
The jest comes in the wake of Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform in Wales, receiving a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for accepting bribes to promote pro-Russia propaganda in the European Parliament. Gill, who previously served as an MEP for UKIP and the Brexit Party under Nigel Farage’s leadership, took on the role of Reform’s leader in Wales in 2021 but resigned after an unsuccessful bid in the Senedd election.
Gill, aged 52 from Anglesey, North Wales, was found to have accepted over £40,000 from Oleg Voloshyn, a former Ukrainian MP described by the US Government as a pawn of the Russian security services.
Following Gill’s imprisonment, Starmer initiated an investigation into foreign financial interference in British politics, with Communities Secretary Steve Reed denouncing the case as a threat to democracy. Reed outlined plans for an impartial inquiry to address the issue of external influence on UK politics.
In response to the scandal, Farage dismissed the need to probe into Russian influences within his party, asserting that Reform was not responsible for policing such matters. However, he expressed support for a nationwide investigation, acknowledging the prevailing doubts and affirming the importance of transparency in the political landscape.