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Sacked Reform MP throws shade at Farage on the Russian bribery scandal

Nigel Farage and the Reform Party have found themselves in hot water recently after one of their politicians was found guilty of accepting bribes from Russia. Or they would have done if the media had gone all in, anyway; really, the water has been tepid and shallow on most fronts.

Thankfully, there are those who are keeping the story alive, and as a result the sacked Reformer Rupert Lowe felt a need to make a statement:

Russian bribes and Farage

As Byline Times reported, it took Farage “over two weeks” to acknowledge Nathan Gill’s conviction. Gill had taken bribes from a pro-Russian Ukrainian MP and Viktor Medvedchuk, a close ally of Putin. Farage claims he was “stunned” by the revelation, and that he was they only person in Reform “that really knew him, going back a long way”. This claim is disputed by Byline Times, who wrote:

Farage’s claim that he was the “only one” in Reform UK who knew Gill contradicts the information Byline Times has received from former MEPs that Gill and Tice worked closely together during the Brexit Party era.

It’s strange that it took Farage so long, because he’s previously spoken out against individuals who take money from Russians:


Awkwardly, he also announced that the ‘Russian collusion hoax’ ended in 2023:


Maybe he should have colluded with some sort of internal review – worked out what his politicians were up to.

Media reporting has very much framed Farage as being victim in all this:

HL which reads: 'Nigel Farage 'betrayed' by ex-Reform leader'

Headlines which say Farage was stunned

Poor Nigel – nothing worse than finding out a guy who shares your worldview only supported Russia for the rubles:

When they go Lowe

The timeline of Lowe leaving Reform is messy. The TLDR is:

  • Lowe began criticising Farage (seemingly in coordination with Elon Musk).
  • Farage suggested Lowe wouldn’t be anywhere near office without Nigel’s cult of personality (a.k.a. Reform).
  • Reform suspended Lowe and reported him to the police for ‘verbal threats’ and “serious bullying” of female staffers.
  • Lowe described the accusations as “vexatious”.
  • Several months of back and forth ensued.

Now, Lowe has issued the following statement (emphasis added):

I have received A LOT of questions about Nathan Gill, having sat as a Brexit Party MEP alongside him in Brussels and Strasbourg. He was also the Reform leader in Wales. For those who don’t know, he has pleaded guilty to taking pro-Russian bribes over a number of months.

Obviously, I had absolutely no idea. I was new to the European Parliament, Nathan had been there for years alongside Farage – they were very close. He was the head of the delegation of our MEPs, so with the whip ran the day-to-day affairs of our grouping and organised activity in Brussels/Strasbourg. He was one of just two MEPs from the previous term Farage allowed to stand again.

He seemed particularly interested in Russian/Ukrainian developments which I found peculiar. There was one event, right at the beginning of our term, which he asked me and other MEPs to attend. Due to his position in the grouping, I agreed. It had a very pro-Russian slant, with individuals who claimed to be close to Putin there. For obvious reasons, I did not attend another such event.

I thought his obsession with that part of the world was strange, but given his years in the Parliament and position in the party, I didn’t think there was more to it. Other MEPs also found it unusual, but we just got on with job.

So to journalists asking, there is my response.

It is disgraceful behaviour, treasonous behaviour.

I am ashamed to have ever sat alongside him.

As you can see, he’s claiming Gill was always weirdly pro-Russian, and yet Farage didn’t seem to mind. After all, he was one of only two MEPs who Farage “allowed” to run again.

People have responded to the latest intervention online:


Several praised Zack Polanski, who has refused to allow the establishment to flush this story down the ‘nothing to see here’ chute:

Teflon Farage

For whatever reason, the mainstream media never seems to want to talk about Farage / Reform’s scandals:

While Rupert Lowe is arguably one of the least credible voices on anything, it’s very interesting how he’s approached this situation. He normally has no issue going studs in, and he’s considerably more unhinged than Farage on most issues:


The fact that he went relatively soft on Farage suggests he feels a need to distance himself but doesn’t want this story to blow up. That’s just speculation, of course, but there’s plenty out there which isn’t, and it doesn’t paint a flattering picture of Farage or the circles he moves in:

Featured image via UK Parliament

By Willem Moore

This post was originally published on Canary.