{"id":7127,"date":"2022-03-11T17:46:16","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T17:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/03\/11\/evgeny-lebedev-i-am-not-some-agent-of-russia-2\/"},"modified":"2022-03-11T17:46:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T17:46:16","slug":"evgeny-lebedev-i-am-not-some-agent-of-russia-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/03\/11\/evgeny-lebedev-i-am-not-some-agent-of-russia-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Evgeny Lebedev: I am not some agent of Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Russo-British businessman Evgeny Lebedev has denied posing a “security risk” to Britain, declaring in an article “I am not an agent of Russia”.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It follows reports that the security services had expressed concerns he would be made a peer in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Writing in the London Evening Standard, which he owns, Lord Lebedev said he had “no choice but to reply”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said it was “crucial that we do not fall into Russophobia during the war in Ukraine.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The British government has tightened sanctions against individuals and companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin since his invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Seven oligarchs, including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, and 386 Russian MPs were among the latest to be sanctioned by Britain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In this climate, some individuals with ties to Russia are coming under closer scrutiny in the UK as the war in Ukraine escalates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \n
  • Who are the mega-rich Russians facing sanctions?<\/li>\n
  • What sanctions will be imposed on Russia?<\/li>\n
  • Who is not on the UK sanctions list?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Last week the Sunday Times reported that in March 2020 the commission examining nominations to the peerage advised Prime Minister Boris Johnson against giving Mr Lebedev a seat in the House of Lords over security concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The newspaper said the rating was withdrawn after Mr Johnson – a longtime friend of Lord Lebedev – personally intervened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The commission can advise but not veto appointments to nobility, which are ultimately decided by prime ministers and formalized by the queen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Asked this week if he had “overruled” the advice of the Security Service, Boris Johnson said “no” to the PM’s questions. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Lord Lebedev, the owner of the Independent and London Evening Standard newspapers, was knighted for philanthropy and services to the media in July 2020 after being nominated by Mr Johnson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Union leader Sir Keir Starmer called on Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee to investigate the appointment, calling it a “matter of national security”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    But in his Friday article, Lord Lebedev, who holds both Russian and British citizenship, said: “I am not a security risk to this country I love”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The son of Alexander Lebedev, a Russian billionaire and former KGB officer, came to London at the age of eight when his father started working at the Soviet embassy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    In his article, Lord Lebedev said he was educated in Britain and “proud to be a British citizen and to call Britain my homeland”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    He admitted that his father “was a foreign intelligence agent for the KGB, but I’m not an agent of Russia.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    He said his father “spent his time fighting corruption and illicit financial dealings” and that his family “promoted press freedom” in Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    A Russian name is “not automatically an enemy of the state”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “It is crucial that we do not fall into Russophobia like any other phobia, bigotry or discrimination,” he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The article is the second Lord Lebedev has published in the Evening Standard since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    In late February, he wrote a letter to Putin calling on the Russian president to “end this terrible conflict in Ukraine.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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