The questions over Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage
Evening Standard owner was given a place in the House of Lords despite security warning
The prime minister is facing renewed questions over claims that he helped secure a peerage for the Russian-born newspaper baron Evgeny Lebedev.
The Evening Standard and Independent owner, whose father was a senior KGB officer turned oligarch, was made a lord in 2020, despite concerns raised by the security services.
The Sunday Times claimed that Boris Johnson visited Lebedev at his home on 19 March 2020, two days after the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) rejected his nomination based on intelligence provided by MI5 and MI6.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The newspaper also said the security services withdrew their warning – that putting Lebedev in the Lords posed a national security risk – after Johnson intervened. While Holac vets peerages, the prime minister has the final say. Johnson “pushed ahead with the nomination of his friend”, claimed the paper, and in November 2020 Lebedev became Baron Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia.
The questions
“A number of questions are begged,” said Robert Peston in The Spectator, including the “precise concerns” of MI5 and MI6 and what was said at the 19 March meeting.
But another question, said Peston, is “why was this even an issue at a time when protecting the nation from coronavirus was the obvious priority?” This was March 2020, when “Covid-19 was on these shores in scale” and Downing Street was facing the “worst crisis since the second world war”.
And why was Johnson, as one of Peston’s sources put it, “obsessed with the peerage being granted”?
The journalist suggested that the PM was closer to Ledebev, a dual British national whose Evening Standard backed Johnson when he was London mayor, “than to any other proprietor”. “Johnson would go every autumn to stay in Lebedev’s lavish castle in Umbria for a social weekend – sometimes being flown in Lebedev’s private jet,” added Peston.
Labour has demanded an investigation, with shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper calling on Johnson to reveal to the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee the “full information” about the role he played in the process.
The defence
According to Business Insider, Lebedev “hasn’t spoken or voted” in the House of Lords since he gave his maiden speech last May. He has only attended the chamber three times, added the news site.
Europe Minister James Cleverly used this information to defend Lebedev’s peerage on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, saying: “I think it rather flies in the face of the accusation that he somehow distorts the face of British politics if he’s not voting on British laws.”
“Seemingly undermining the Lords altogether”, Cleverly added that there are “lots” of peers “who are not active members of the House of Lords”, said HuffPost. The minister also warned that “we need to be a little bit careful suggesting or implying that everyone of Russian origin is somehow inappropriate to step into public life”.
Johnson has called the Sunday Times claims “simply incorrect” and said it would “obviously be extraordinary” if he had intervened. He also warned against a “witch hunt” of Russians in the UK, saying that would play into Moscow’s hands.
Meanwhile, Lebedev, who last week appealed to Putin to stop the Ukraine invasion, told The Sunday Times that “all” of the allegations in its report were incorrect and the questions did not “merit an answer”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why are people and elephants fighting in Sri Lanka?
Under The Radar Farmers encroaching into elephant habitats has led to deaths on both sides
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Indie film's 'very brief' use of AI sparks backlash and calls for boycotts
Talking Points Did the creators of a new horror movie make a deal with the artificial intelligence devil?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Could Taylor Swift swing the election?
Today's Big Question The pop star has outsized influence — and that extends beyond the music industry
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Can Boris Johnson save Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question Former PM could 'make the difference' between losing the next election and annihilation
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
How the biggest election year in history might play out
The Explainer Votes in world's biggest democracies, as well as its most 'despotic' and 'stressed' countries, face threats of violence and suppression
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published