A former leading member of the group of MEPs headed by Nigel Farage has denied taking money as part of a campaign to promote Russian interests.
David Coburn, who was leader of Ukip in Scotland for four years, was responding after the jailing of his former colleague, Nathan Gill, on charges of being bribed by an alleged pro-Russian asset.
Coburn, who was an MEP for Scotland between 2014 and 2019, was mentioned in WhatsApp messages between Gill and Oleg Voloshyn – a former Ukrainian MEP who is accused of the bribery – that were released by prosecutors.
Gill was jailed last Friday for 10 and a half years for taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia when he was an MEP. A prominent member of the Ukip and Brexit party groups, he had pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019.
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) documents used in Gill’s case showed him and Voloshyn apparently discussing how much should be set aside for Coburn, who was also an MEP for Reform UK’s precursor, the Brexit party.
The messages were sent in April 2019 before a meeting at the European parliament of the editorial board of 112 Ukraine, a pro-Russian Ukrainian channel, whose membership included Gill and Coburn.
Later that day, there was discussion between Gill and Voloshyn regarding money, which the latter had given to be distributed between Gill and another MEP identified as “D” and “David”.
“I’m seeing D. In the morning. How much was for him?” Gill Messaged Voloshyn, who replied: “6.5 USD.”
The MEP called David, apparently Coburn, was also mentioned in other messages between Gill and Voloshyn, who was working for Viktor Medvedchuk, Vladimir Putin’s most important ally in Ukraine in the years before Russia’s full-scale invasions.
“There is a big request to you and David,” Voloshyn messaged Gill, going on to outline “a smart idea”, which he said Medvedchuk had.
Approached outside a property in France, Coburn reportedly answered “no” when a BBC journalist asked him whether he had ever been paid to give a speech to promote pro-Russian campaigners.
The former MEP has not made any public comment since the jailing of Gill and has not responded to invitations to comment by the Guardian, which has not seen any evidence that Coburn committed any crimes.
Coburn and another Ukip MEP, Jonathan Arnott, visited Ukraine with Gill in October 2018, making statements to pro-Russian media.
Weeks later, they made statements during a debate on Ukraine in the European parliament after Gill spoke. Arnott has rejected any suggestion that he had links to Russia or was acting in its interests.
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