Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the Conservative Party to sack co-leader Ben Elliot over his links to Russian financiers.
Sir Keir said there were “growing concerns” about the oligarchs’ money and that it “should not affect our policies”.
Mr. Elliott also runs Quintessentially, a company that provides services to wealthy clients including Russians based in London.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said all Tory donors are properly registered.
Labor claims the party has raised almost £2million from people with ties to Russia since Boris Johnson appointed Mr Elliot as co-chair in July 2019.
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Those giving money are all British citizens, which is what electoral law requires them to be.
Asked about Sir Keir’s comments, Ms Patel said during a visit to a reception center for Ukrainian refugees in Poland: “All party donations are registered in the approved manner and no political party accepts money from foreign persons.”
Conservative Secretary of State Amanda Milling said last month: “Many [donors] are critics of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and it is totally wrong and discriminatory to camouflage them with the same brush.”
Quintessentially arranges luxury services such as travel, accommodation, education, parties, personal shopping and weddings for wealthy clients.
In 2014, Mr Elliot, the Duchess of Cornwall’s nephew, told The Gentleman’s Journal: “Last month we added a dedicated Russian team to our London offices as more and more Russian speaking clients come to London, so we still are very much.” good on the Russian market.”
The company opened an office in Moscow in 2006, which is still operational, but its UK-facing website no longer mentions Moscow in its list of 40 global offices.
He flatly declined to comment on Mr Elliot’s role in the Conservative Party.
However, a spokesperson told the Financial Times: “The group continues to actively monitor its member base and corporate clients to ensure it does not serve any person or entity that is on the sanctions lists issued by the UK, EU and US governments. Additionally, she can confirm that she is definitely not collaborating with anyone on these lists.”
The company has denied any links to anyone under sanctions by Britain, the EU or the US since President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine last week.
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Speaking in Birmingham after Labor’s victory in the Birmingham by-election, Sir Keir Erdington said: “It is in everyone’s interest for Ben Elliot to step down from his role [with the Conservatives] and I really think he should be fired.
“There are growing concerns about the links between the Conservative Party and Russian money. Ben Elliot takes center stage. We must remove Russian money from our politics and not allow it to influence our politics.”
Sir Keir said the risk is that unless the Conservative government is “really tough” on sanctions, some people will say the party “needs on Russian money”.
The British government has imposed asset freezes on some Russian banks and individuals linked to President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, it sanctioned two more oligarchs – Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov.
Other governments have also imposed sanctions, including confiscation of assets in some cases.
French authorities seized a superyacht owned by oligarchs earlier this week.
Recent research by campaign group Transparency International suggests that since 2016 £1.5 billion worth of British property has been bought by Russians accused of corruption or ties to the Kremlin.
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