Evgeny Lebedev: I am not some agent of Russia

Evgeny Lebedev is the owner of the Independent and the London Evening Standard newspapers

Russian-British businessman Evgeny Lebedev has denied posing a "security risk" to the UK, declaring "I am not some agent of Russia" in an article.

It follows reports that the security services had raised concerns about him being made a peer in 2020.

Writing in the London Evening Standard, which he owns, Lord Lebedev said he had "no option but to respond".

He said it was "crucial we do not descend into Russophobia" during the war in Ukraine.

The UK government has been ratcheting up sanctions against individuals and companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin since his invasion of Ukraine was launched on 24 February.

Seven oligarchs including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich and 386 Russian MPs were among the latest to be sanctioned by the UK.

In this climate, some people with ties to Russia are coming under closer scrutiny in the UK as the war in Ukraine escalates.

• Who are the mega-rich Russians facing sanctions?

• What sanctions are being imposed on Russia?

• Who is not on the UK sanctions list?

Last week, the Sunday Times reported that in March 2020, the commission that vets peerage appointments advised Prime Minister Boris Johnson against granting Mr Lebedev a seat in the House of Lords on security grounds.

The newspaper said the assessment was withdrawn after Mr Johnson - a long-time friend of Lord Lebedev - personally intervened.

The commission can advise but has no veto over peerage appointments, which are ultimately decided by prime minsters and formalised by the Queen.

Asked at prime minister's questions this week, if he had "overruled" security service advice, Boris Johnson said "no".

Lord Lebedev, the owner of the Independent and the London Evening Standard newspapers, was given a peerage in July 2020, for philanthropy and services to the media, after being nominated by Mr Johnson.

Boris Johnson with his sister Rachel and Lord Lebedev at an Evening Standard party in 2012

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee to investigate the appointment, calling it a "matter of national security".

But in his article on Friday, Lord Lebedev, who holds both Russian and British citizenship, said "I am not a security risk to this country, which I love".

Russophobia warning

The son of Alexander Lebedev, a billionaire Russian banker and former KGB officer, he came to London at the age of eight when his father began working in the Soviet embassy.

In his article, Lord Lebedev said he was educated in the UK and was "proud to be a British citizen and consider Britain my home".

He acknowledged his father "was a foreign intelligence agent of the KGB, but I am not some agent of Russia".

He said his father "spent his time campaigning against corruption and illegal financial dealings" and his family "has a record of standing up for press freedom" in Russia.

Having a Russian name, he said, "does not automatically make one an enemy of the state".

"It is crucial we do not descend into Russophobia, like any other phobia, bigotry or discrimination," he added.

The article is the second Lord Lebedev has published in the Evening Standard since the war in Ukraine started.

At the end of February, he wrote a letter to Mr Putin, in which he urged the Russian president to "bring this terrible conflict in Ukraine to an end".