The British opposition Labor Party has called on Boris Johnson to consider sanctions against Alexander Lebedev after a former KGB officer whose son is in the House of Lords was placed under sanctions from Canada.
The move by the Canadian government is a political challenge for the prime minister, given his close ties to the Lebedev family. He attended Lebedev’s 60th birthday party the night after he won the 2019 election and has since ennobled his son, Evgeny Lebedev, co-owner of the Evening Standard and Independent news outlets.
Angela Raynor, the Labor’s deputy leader, said anyone with ties to the KGB should be punished.
“The Conservatives have been so slow and too lenient in imposing sanctions on those associated with Putin. “There is now an extremely strong argument that Alexander Lebedev is facing sanctions from the United Kingdom, and the government must urgently consider the evidence,” she said.
Johnson has previously been criticized for insisting on the title of the younger Lebedev, despite fears from security services.
Dominique Cummings, Johnson’s former chief of staff, said: “I was in the room when cabinet officials told the prime minister that intelligence and other parts of the deep state had, say, serious reservations about the prime minister’s plan. ”
The prime minister regularly attended parties at an Italian mansion owned by the media mogul’s family, including when he was foreign minister.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie announced a new list of sanctions on Friday, which affected 14 Russians and banned the import of Russian vodka and diamonds, with total sanctions imposed on more than 1,000 individuals and legal entities.
“The Putin regime must and will be held accountable for its unjustified actions,” she said. “Canada, along with our allies, will be ruthless in our efforts to maintain pressure on the Russian regime until it is no longer able to wage war. We are steadfast in our support for Ukraine and its people. “
In 2014, Evgeny Lebedev defended Putin’s invasion of Crimea in an interview with the BBC.
However, a few weeks ago, he called on the Russian president to stop the Ukrainian invasion: “As a Russian citizen, I ask you to stop the Russians from killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters. As a British citizen, I ask you to save Europe from war. As a Russian patriot, please do not allow more young Russian soldiers to die unnecessarily, “he said.
The older Lebedev was a senior banker in the 1990s after leaving the KGB and making a fortune in other industries, including aviation. He is a member of the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Before the financial crash in 2008, he was estimated by Forbes to have amassed a fortune of £ 3.1 billion, which put him 39th on the list of Russia’s rich, but after the collapse he told The Guardian: ” The shares cost me $ 1 billion. Now they cost $ 300 million. Okay, so what?
Lebedev Sr. said Canada’s move proves that Western politicians do not understand Russia.
“I have been in opposition for a decade, I spent a year in a trial against Trump[ed] he filed charges, awaiting a seven-year sentence, did not leave his country, I lost all the money and property I had, as well as my cause, “he said.
This month, the British government opposed calls from Labor to announce the advice given to Johnson by the security services before the prime minister nominated his Evgeny Lebedev for the title of peer.
Ministers circulated nine pages of documents related to the process, some heavily edited but excluding confidential advice from security services.
Cabinet Minister Michael Ellis released a separate document describing Lebedev as a “man of good repute”, but said all additional details should be kept secret in order to “protect national security”
Documents in the Companies House show that the Lebedev family has suffered losses far in excess of £ 100 million since 2009, even after gains from the sale of Newspaper I, as well as stakes in the Independent and the London Evening Standard.
The free sheet, which is popular with travelers in the capital, was particularly hard hit by the Covid pandemic, as workers stayed home and made losses almost every year after its acquisition.
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