A fiery showdown on live television left BBC viewers stunned last night — as Reform UK’s top aide Zia Yusuf clashed with Green Party leader Zack Polanski over shocking revelations that former Reform figure Nathan Gill accepted Russian bribes.

Polanski confronted Yusuf with photos of Nigel Farage standing beside Gill, demanding to know:

“So were you lying, or was Nigel Farage lying?”

The tension was electric. Yusuf hit back instantly:

“You are lying. I have never met Nathan Gill in my life.”

The exchange descended into chaos as the two politicians talked over each other, forcing host Fiona Bruce to step in and calm the row.

Gill — a former UKIP and Brexit Party MEP — pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery, admitting he took money from a Russian operative to promote pro-Moscow messages in the European Parliament.

Though Reform UK insists Gill has had “no involvement” in the party for years, the photo of him smiling next to Farage in 2017 — captioned “Happy birthday to my friend and colleague Nigel Farage” — continues to fuel controversy online.

After the show, Polanski doubled down, posting the image on X (Twitter) and accusing Reform of “whitewashing links with a convicted traitor.”

Meanwhile, Yusuf defended his boss, saying:

“Nigel meets tens of thousands of people every year. He can’t be held responsible for the actions of every single one.”

As the row rages on, critics are asking whether Farage’s Reform UK can truly distance itself from the shadow of Russian influence — or if this scandal marks the beginning of a deeper reckoning.