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UK's Boris Johnson defends meeting ex-KGB agent at party

FILE - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Johnson has defended meeting a Russian oligarch with a KGB past. The British leader said in a letter published Tuesday, July 26, 2022 by Parliaments Liaison Committee that as far as I am aware no government business was discussed at the 2018 get-together. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) (Matt Dunham, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

LONDON ā€“ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended meeting a Russian oligarch with a KGB past, saying ā€œas far as I am awareā€ no government business was discussed at the 2018 get-together.

Johnson, who quit as Conservative Party leader July 7 after months of ethics scandals, is facing questions about his relationship with Russia-born newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev and his father, Alexander. The older man is a businessman and former Cold War-era KGB officer who has been sanctioned by Canada for his alleged role in enabling Russiaā€™s invasion of Ukraine.

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In April 2018, Johnson went to a party at Evgeny Lebedevā€™s Italian mansion that was also attended by Alexander Lebedev. Johnson, who was British foreign secretary at the time, was not accompanied by any officials.

The event was held as Johnson returned from a NATO meeting, and weeks after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury. A police officer and two local people were also sickened, one of whom, Dawn Sturgess, later died.

Britain blames Russiaā€™s GRU security service for the Salisbury attack, a charge Moscow denies.

Johnson told a committee of senior lawmakers that his meeting with Alexander Lebedev ā€œwas not a formal meeting, nor something that was pre-arranged.ā€ He said it was normal for Britainā€™s top diplomat to attend a ā€œprivate, social occasionā€ without officials or security staff.

He said in a letter published Tuesday by Parliamentā€™s Liaison Committee that ā€œas far as I am aware, no government business was discussedā€ at the party.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Johnsonā€™s ā€œmealy-mouthed statement raises more questions than it answers.ā€

She said Johnson ā€œapparently still cannot recall whether he discussed government business or not. This letter suggests the Prime Minister has something to hide.ā€

Evgeny Lebedev owns Britainā€™s Evening Standard and Independent newspapers. In 2020 was given a noble title ā€” Lord Lebedev of Siberia ā€” and a seat in Parliamentā€™s House of Lords by Johnsonā€™s government. British media have reported that U.K. intelligence agencies had expressed concerns about the appointment.

Since Russiaā€™s invasion of Ukraine in February, Johnsonā€™s government has sanctioned hundreds of wealthy Russians and moved to clamp down on money laundering through Londonā€™s property and financial markets.

Opposition politicians and anti-corruption campaigners say Johnsonā€™s Conservatives have allowed ill-gotten money to slosh into U.K. properties, banks and businesses for years, turning London into a ā€œlaundromatā€ for dirty cash.


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