Nigel Farage’s Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby bankrolled by boss of firm hit by ‘secret cartel’ probe

Nigel Farage’s Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby bankrolled by boss of firm hit by ‘secret cartel’ probe EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Pochin accepted a £6,000 donation from twice-jailed Jonathan Gaskell whose waste company is under investigation over a potential breach of competition law One of Nigel Farage’s Reform MPs accepted cash from a boss whose firm is at the centre of a “secret cartel” probe. Sarah Pochin took a donation from a businessman who twice served jail time, including over a worker’s death, we revealed. Now it can be disclosed Jonathan Gaskell’s waste business is being investigated by a watchdog over a potential breach of competition law. His firm Gaskells was searched last year in the ongoing Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe. The watchdog is investigating three waste firms, including Gaskells, over “suspected anti-competitive conduct”. The probe was launched in June last year into Gaskells (North West) Ltd and two other companies. Meanwhile, records show Runcorn and Helsby MP Pochin accepted £6,000 from Gaskell in May this year. Mrs Pochin’s register of interests details an “end date” for the donation of April 10, suggesting the sum could be split in different payments during the period. In a story in June, we revealed Gaskell’s criminal past. He was jailed for eight months in 2018 after his employee was crushed while clearing a machine blockage. And in 2013, he got a four-month sentence for paying to have driving licence points wiped in a scam. Information gathering is being carried out until the end of the year in the CMA probe into Gaskell’s firm. The company is being investigated over “suspected anti-competitive conduct in relation to the supply of waste management services under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998”. The government’s website, which describes the case type as “civil cartels”, says: “The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any party or parties.” A Competition Appeal Tribunal judgment on Gaskells’ application for further information on the warrant to search the firm offers more insight into the case. The judgment from September last year details: “The warrant to enter, search and take possession of documents at the Gaskells premises was executed between 24 June and 2 July 2025.” It further explains: “The investigation concerns allegations of a secret cartel and it is clearly a complex matter involving other parties. “It is a necessary consequence of such an investigation that the Warrant Application contains material which concerns Gaskells but which would be damaging to the continuing investigation if it were revealed to Gaskells.” The judgment, which refused Gaskell’s application, states: “The interest of Gaskells in receiving the redacted material is a limited one, largely confined to reputational and strategic considerations. They are of considerably lesser importance than the public interest considerations advanced by the CMA and it is clear that the public interest considerations should prevail in the balancing exercise the Tribunal is conducting for the purposes of the Application.” Gaskells (North West) Ltd was subsequently ordered to pay CMA’s costs of over £42,000 in relation to its unsuccessful application for further information. Reform UK said: "The donation was properly declared under House of Commons rules by a permissible donor and was made to support Sarah's work as a local MP.” Asked whether Mrs Pochin was aware Gaskell’s firm was being probed by CMA when she accepted the donation, Reform did not answer the question. Gaskell is understood to have rebuilt his life after going to prison. Gaskells and Pochin were contacted for comment.