PM denies he overruled Mi5 and Mi6 to get Russian billionaire Lebedev a peerage
Boris Johnson has today flatly denied claims he intervened to get his Russian billionaire friend Evgeny Lebedev a life peerage, after warnings from security services.
Johnson said it’s “not the case” he told the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) that its assessment the media mogul should not get a peerage – after warnings by Mi5 and Mi6 – was “anti-Russianism”.
The Sunday Times reported that security services had flagged concerns in 2020 about Lebedev’s connections to the Kremlin and the source of his wealth, after he had been put up for a peerage by the Prime Minister.
Lebedev, who owns The Independent and Evening Standard, got most of his wealth from his father – an ex-KGB agent and media mogul in Russia with close ties to Vladimir Putin.
Holac’s recommendation to not grant Lebedev a peerage was reportedly dropped after the Prime Minister’s intervention and he was admitted to the House of Lords in November 2020.
Johnson and Lebedev have been friends for many years, with the PM going to a party thrown by the Russian billionaire on the night of the 2019 General Election.
When asked about the story today, Johnson said: “That would obviously be extraordinary but that’s not the case.”
Referencing the Ukraine invasion, he added: “What I can tell you is it suits Putin’s agenda to try and characterise this as a struggle between the west and Russia. And it suits his agenda to say that the UK, that we in Nato countries, are anti-Russia, European countries are now anti-Russia.
“And it’s very, very important that we get the message over that we’re not anti-Russian, we’re not against Russians, we’re simply – our quarrel is simply with the regime and the aggression of Vladimir Putin.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer yesterday told the BBC that a Westminster committee should probe the “very concerning” case and that “there’s at least the suggestion that the government and the Prime Minister were warned that there was a national security risk in this particular appointment”.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper also wrote to Johnson to call for the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to launch a probe into the allegation and for the PM to fully cooperate.
A Number 10 spokersperson said: “All peerages are vetted by [Holac] and as you know [Holac] seeks advice from government departments and agencies where appropriate.
“This was done entirely properly and correctly. We have the procedures and systems in place to make sure it is.”