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Gill sat in the European Union legislature for two hard-right
parties led by Nigel Farage, UKIP and the Brexit Party. After
Britain’s exit from the EU in 2020 he became the leader in Wales
of Farage’s current party, Reform UK. He is no longer a party
member.
Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed,
who is responsible for elections, said Gill’s conduct “is a
stain on our democracy. The independent review will work to
remove that stain.”
He said the review will be led by former senior civil servant
Philip Rycroft. It will look at the political financing laws,
the rules governing political parties and whether there are
enough safeguards against illicit money, including when it comes
to cryptocurrency donations.
Reed said it would look at “all potential sources of malign
foreign financial interference,” including China. Rycroft is due
to submit his report by the end of March.
It will not look at claims of foreign interference in Britain's
2016 referendum on EU membership, a claim made by some opponents
of Brexit.
British government and intelligence officials have increasingly
warned that British democracy is vulnerable to manipulation.
In November, security service MI5 warned lawmakers that Chinese
spies were actively reaching out to “recruit and cultivate” them
through headhunters or cover companies. MI5 Director-General Ken
McCallum said Beijing was behind “efforts to interfere covertly
in U.K. public life.”
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