The week in which one right-wing Welsh politician was exposed as a criminal and another as a hypocrite

Martin Shipton

Have we reached such a low point that criminality and hypocrisy are the dominating factors in our political life?

The outrageous behaviour of two right-wing Welsh politicians has depressingly pushed me in such a direction.

The criminal is Nathan Gill, Reform UK’s first – and so far only – leader in Wales, while the hypocrite is former Conservative Senedd group leader Andrew RT Davies.

Their cases may be dissimilar, but there is a common theme between them: Ukraine.

Bribes

Gill, a former MEP who represented Wales from 2014 until the UK left the EU in 2020, was facing trial for accepting bribes from a pro-Russian Ukrainian traitor to push Russia’s interests at the European Parliament.

During the same period as Gill was committing his crimes, the Brexit Party group led by Nigel Farage voted against stronger EU measures aimed at countering “highly dangerous” Russian disinformation.

In March 2023 Nation.Cymru revealed how Gill had met pro-Russian leaders in Ukraine and Moldova on multiple trips organised by men accused of being Kremlin agents.

Between May and November 2018, Gill made three visits to Ukraine and one to Moldova.

Three of the trips were paid for or arranged by an organisation run by Janusz Niedźwiecki, a Polish national in pre-trial detention on espionage charges, while at least one also involved Oleh Voloshyn, a Ukrainian considered an “FSB pawn” by the US Government and suspected of high treason by Ukraine.

The two men were part of a Russian lobbying operation targeting western politicians which members of the UK Parliament had been warned to avoid.

Gill was among those who “played into the hands of the pro-Russian forces in Ukraine”, according to Anton Shekhovtsov, a Ukrainian academic and author of “Russia and the Western Far Right.”

Gill is now awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to seven bribery charges relating to cash he accepted from Voloshyn.

Criminality

His trial had been due to go ahead in May 2026, shortly after the Senedd election where the party he led could win the highest number of MSs. By pleading guilty, he has avoided the need for a trial at which more detailed evidence about his criminality would have emerged in open court.

Serious questions remain for Reform UK – the renamed Brexit Party – about its knowledge of Gill’s involvement with Voloshyn. Gill, originally elected to the European Parliament as a member of UKIP, was closer to Farage than most other UKIP MEPs and one of the few allowed to stand for the Brexit Party in the 2019 election.

There is a smiley photograph circulating of Farage and Voloshyn’s wife, suggesting they were known to each other. Did Farage have a connection with Voloshyn, and if so what did it amount to?

Llyr Powell, Reform UK’s candidate in the Caerphilly Senedd by-election taking place on October 23 and at one time employed as an adviser to Gill, also needs to be candid about what he knew, if anything, about his former boss’s criminality. I asked him but got no response.

What we do know is that Nigel Farage, to whom Powell is also close, has expressed his admiration for Putin and has spoken about how he considers the West to have “provoked” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Just the kind of propagandist line Putin has been using to justify his brutal war on Ukraine.

I had assumed that Reform’s constant shrill denunciations of the Welsh Government’s Nation of Sanctuary policy was a cynical smear aimed at giving the false impression that public money was being spent on “undeserving” asylum seekers and refugees with brown skins, when more than 80% of the money had been spent resettling refugees from Ukraine. But perhaps part of the antagonism derives from the party leader’s sympathy for Putin and the uncalled-for provocation to which he was subjected.

Bitter

Another politician who is behaving disgracefully in relation to the Nation of Sanctuary plan is Andrew RT Davies, who is still a bitter man after being ousted from his previous role as leader of the Welsh Conservatives’ Senedd group.

His utter hypocrisy is revealed by contrasting his constant attacks on the policy as he sees it as a good populist line to spin in the run-up to next May’s Senedd with his previous public statements that backed the policy.

On the morning after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mr Davies, who led his party’s Senedd group at the time, issued a statement on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives that said: “The news that has come in overnight is deeply troubling and shows just how precarious the peace in Eastern Europe is. Putin and his cronies have proven to be despicable leaders of an aggressive and expansionist Russia who must be taken to task immediately.

“The world must be resolute in standing behind the Ukrainian Government and preserve its place as a free and democratic country. The democratic alliance must now provide all the support required to achieve that goal and assist the refugees that all wars inevitably create.

“Putin must be left in no doubt at all that the democracies of the world will not stand by and let his aggressive actions go unchecked. If we do, it might be Ukraine today, but someone else tomorrow.”

‘Unimaginable horrors’

Exactly a year later, in February 2023 on the first anniversary of the invasion, the Welsh Conservatives again issued a statement from Mr Davies in which he said: “Over the last 12 months, the people of Ukraine have had to deal with the unimaginable horrors of Putin’s cruel and barbaric invasion, watching their homes and communities being destroyed, and losing loved ones.

“I am hugely proud to say that throughout the invasion, Wales and the United Kingdom have demonstrated our commitment to fighting oppression and tyranny, providing crucial military and humanitarian aid to help support our Ukrainian friends.

“As we mark the anniversary of this terrible conflict, I welcome the work that both the Welsh and UK Governments have done to accommodate those fleeing Putin’s illegal invasion.

“However, more still needs to be done and we need to see an urgent long-term plan from the Labour Government to ensure that our Ukrainian friends have a safe place that they can call home here in Wales.”

Then in January 2024, Mr Davies asked Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt a question during a Senedd plenary meeting. He said: “Will the Minister outline what ongoing support the Welsh Government is providing to people impacted by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with 24 February 2024 marking two years since it began?”

Ms Hutt responded: “As a Nation of Sanctuary, we are continuing to support our Ukrainian guests, helping them move on into longer-term accommodation and integrate into our communities.

“Our Team Wales approach has led to over 7,000 Ukrainians finding sanctuary in Wales. Securing longer term accommodation is key to provision of support for those displaced by the crisis in Ukraine. The partnership between Welsh Government, local authorities and third sector partners such as Housing Justice Cymru and the Welsh Refugee Council continues to help people move on from initial accommodation. We have worked hard to settle as many guests as possible into longer term accommodation where they can have more independence and lead more settled lives.

“Employment is also key to supporting our Ukrainian guests to move into their own accommodation and gain independence. We are working with our key partners in the public and voluntary sectors to support our Ukrainian guests to find meaningful work. This includes English for speakers of other languages, or ESOL provision, through existing Welsh Government-funded programmes. As well as a Specialist Training and Employment Programme, known as STEP Ukraine. This is an intensive online English language and employment programme, which has received positive take up from our Ukrainian community in Wales. There is also support with the recognition of qualifications so people can utilise their skills to gain employment in their chosen vocation.”

Denunciations

There were no denunciations of the Nation of Sanctuary policy from Mr Davies at that time. Nor were there from any other members of the Conservative group at the Senedd.

What has changed since then? Perhaps the dawning of a view that stirring up antagonism towards asylum seekers and refugees is a vote winner.

In March 2025, shortly after the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, Daren Millar, who took over as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in December 2027 posted a message to X that said: “Can I first of all, First Minister, welcome the Welsh Government statement that you issued earlier on today regarding Ukraine? Like you, these Welsh Conservatives stand full square behind Ukraine in the face of the illegal invasion by Russia of its sovereign territory, and that will not waver.”

In her statement endorsed by Darren Millar, Eluned Morgan said: “I am pleased that our support for Ukraine and its people has been, and will continue to be, unwavering.

“I am truly proud that Wales has given full support to Ukraine, from the moment Ukraine was illegally and brutally invaded by Vladimir Putin. Let me be clear, there can be no justification for the invasion of Ukraine, and we must stand full square behind President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine.

“We, in Wales, have offered the hand of friendship to Ukraine and to Ukrainians who have lost their homes because of Russian aggression. We remain committed to helping Ukrainians who have been forced to leave their country.

“Our solidarity with Ukraine and its people is unequivocal, and we must continue to stand by our friends in Ukraine in these difficult times.”

Both Andrew RT Davies and Darren Millar have turned against a policy they once endorsed in the belief that doing so will give them political advantage.

They don’t deserve to profit from such immoral – and yes, Darren Millar – unChristian behaviour.