British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered an urgent assessment of the level of foreign influence on British politics amid preparations for legislative changes aimed at strengthening control over political donations. This is reported by Sky News, according to UNN.
Details
The government has already launched an accelerated analysis of the current financial rules governing political contributions and the protection of electoral processes. The final conclusions are expected to be presented at the end of March.
Philip Rycroft, former Permanent Secretary of the Department for Exiting the European Union, has been appointed to head the review. He has been tasked with analyzing the effectiveness of existing regulations and preparing proposals for their update. The full report is planned to be released to the public.
The decision to launch the review was a reaction to the conviction of Nathan Gill, the former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales. He admitted to receiving tens of thousands of pounds in cash for spreading pro-Russian statements in the media and the European Parliament.
During the investigation, police said they believed some individuals mentioned in the case had direct links to Vladimir Putin.
The start of the initiative in the House of Commons was announced by the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed. He described Gill's actions as a "stain on British democracy" and emphasized that an independent review should address weaknesses in the political finance system.
Recall
Former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales, Nathan Gill, appeared in court in London, pleading guilty to eight counts of receiving money between December 2018 and July 2019. He received bribes for following instructions from Ukrainian citizen Oleg Voloshyn, who was an official in Viktor Yanukovych's government.