Steerpike Steerpike

Lord Lebedev burns Keir

Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

Labour has been indulging in a ritual bout of moralising over the Tories’ Russian connections. Having first tried to exploit the issue of wealthy British Russians donating to the party, now the opposition has turned its guns on a new target instead. Step forward ‘friend of the stars’ Evgeny Lebedev, the bearded proprietor of the Evening Standard and Independent. Rich, well-connected, the son of a former KGB agent, Lebedev was an obvious target for those probing Kremlin connections in the UK.

In their eagerness to get the government on the back foot, Labour has today tabled a Humble Address motion on Lebedev. If successful, it will force the government to publish information on the decision to give Lebedev a seat in the House of Lords in 2020. Advice issued by the Prime Minister’s private office to the House of Lords Appointment Commission (HOLAC) is normally kept confidential, but Labour is seeking to force it into the open in Parliament.

Now though Lebedev has sought to turn the tables on Labour and its leader Sir Keir Starmer. He took to Twitter earlier this afternoon to declare that ‘Openness and transparency are pillars of our democratic system, so I welcome the call for security advice about me provided to HOLAC to be released. I have nothing to hide.’ The Lord of Hampton and Siberia then added a jibe for one of his most prominent critics: 

And in the spirit of transparency here is a text to me from @Keir_Starmer: “Congratulations on your elevation to the House of Lords. All best wishes, Keir.”

Ouch. In a subsequent tweet, Lebedev added: ‘There’s a war in Europe. Britain is facing the highest cost of living since the 1950s. And you choose to debate me based on no facts and pure innuendo. What’s become of you @UKLabour?’ Looks like that’s one endorsement Labour can’t count on in 2024…

Update: it transpires that a number of peers received the exact same text when they joined the Upper House.

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