Labour to force PM to release info on involvement in Lebedev appointment

Labour will attempt to force Boris Johnson to release information relating to his involvement in the controversial appointment of Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords despite warnings that the son of an ex-KGB agent posed a security risk.

The party has tabled a ‘humble address’ motion for debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It calls for the release of documents relating to advice from, or to, the Lords appointment commission held by the Prime Minister’s office and Cabinet Office and the minutes of any meeting in which the matter was discussed.

The Times reported earlier this month that after the Prime Minister intervened officials withdrew an assessment concluding that handing the media mogul a position in the upper parliamentary chamber presented a national security risk.

The Lords appointments commission wrote to the Prime Minister in March 2020 advising against the ennoblement of Lebedev. Johnson is said to have responded to the concerns raised by peers and security officials as “anti-Russianism”.

Angela Rayner said today: “This is an important matter of national security. The Prime Minister has allowed his friendship with the son and business partner of an ex-KGB agent to blind his primary duty to the British public – to keep them safe.”

The deputy Labour leader argued that the Prime Minister had “once again put personal interest before the public’s” in intervening in the appointment of the peer, warning that “this time he’s risked national security”.

“The British public have a right to know if and how an individual of apparent concern to our intelligence services was granted a seat in the heart of our parliament by Boris Johnson, against security advice. This government’s dangerous links to Putin’s oligarchs are putting Britain at risk,” she said.

Lebedev owns the Evening Standard and The Independent. He derives his wealth from his father Alexander, a billionaire oligarch. Lebedev has previously been described as a critic of Vladimir Putin but is thought to have retained ties with the Kremlin.

The appointments commission advice against the appointment was based on MI5 and MI6 intelligence, provided to the commission by Cabinet Office security officials. Downing Street refused to reconsider the nomination.

Two days after the appointments commission sent its initial letter of concern to the Prime Minister, on March 19th, Johnson met Lebedev at his home. Downing Street will not say what was discussed. Both Downing Street and Lebedev have highlighted his charitable and business activities as reasons for the peerage.

Keir Starmer rediscovered “ancient procedures” – as he put it – during the Brexit debates in parliament. He used a humble address motion to force the Prime Minister’s hand and secure the publication of a Brexit impact assessment.

Labour has since tried to use the same mechanism for other demands, such as publishing a Covid review in May 2021, which was unsuccessful, and releasing documents related to the Westferry Printworks scandal in June 2020, which did work.