MPs erupted into laughter as Chancellor Rachel Reeves made a savage dig at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as she delivered her Budget to the Commons on Wednesday
Autumn Budget: Reeves takes aim at Farage with ‘Russian assets’ quip
Nigel Farage has been torn apart by Rachel Reeves in a brutal insult about potential pro-Russian forces operating within Reform UK.
MPs erupted into laughter as the Chancellor made a savage dig at the Reform leader as she delivered her Budget to the Commons on Wednesday.
Ms Reeves told MPs: “And finally, Madam Deputy Speaker, we are ramping up sanctions on Russia and we are freezing known Russian assets. But let me be clear, I don’t actually mean the honourable Member for Clacton. “
Mr Farage – who is the MP for Clacton – has been criticised after Reform UK’s former Welsh leader, Nathan Gill, was jailed for more than a decade for accepting Russian bribes. The Reform leader has since been under growing pressure to launch a probe into whether pro-Putin forces are operating within the party’s ranks.
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Keir Starmer last week came out swinging at Mr Farage after an ex-close ally of the Reform UK leader was jailed for accepting pro-Russian bribes. The Prime Minister said the 10-and-a-half-year jail sentence for Nathan Gill was “shocking” and called on Mr Farage to set up an inquiry into his party.
Speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit, Mr Starmer demanded the Clacton MP answer how this happened on his watch. “I think that that demands that Nigel Farage investigate how that happened within his party, and equally importantly, what other links there are between his party and Russia, and that needs that,” he told the BBC.
“In fact, he should get up today. He’s usually got plenty to say and say, in light of this shocking result, with a long prison sentence to see how serious it is undermining our interests as a country, he should set up an inquiry, an investigation into his home party.
“How did that happen on his watch, in his party, and what other links are there between his party and Russia? That’s what he should do.”
Gill, 52, admitted eight counts of bribery after taking thousands of pounds to deliver scripted speeches and push a pro-Russian agenda on TV when he was an MEP. A Met Police probe is ongoing into whether the scandal runs deeper.
The disgraced former UKIP and Brexit Party politician accepted the cash from tycoon Oleg Voloshyn – branded a “pawn” of the Russian security services by the US government, the Old Bailey heard.
On Monday, Mr Farage refused to launch a probe as he said he had no powers. Speaking on a visit to Wales, he said: “I haven’t got a police force. I haven’t got access. I can’t access your phone messages. I can’t access your emails. Unless I can do that, I can’t investigate.”
Asked what questions he had asked of people in his party, he said: “Well, I’ve asked everybody, have you ever taken money you shouldn’t have taken from anybody? And no one said yes.”
He added: “I would point out to you that this is an embarrassment for Ukip. It’s a very minor embarrassment for Reform.” He then suggested it “wouldn’t be a bad thing” for MI5 to look into it.