UK Government Accused of Cover-Up for Withholding Security Advice on Peerage for Russian Tycoon

[claireokc]

The UK government has been accused of a “cover-up” after it refused to release detailed security advice over a Russian-born businessman’s entry to the House of Lords. British–Russian media mogul Evgeny Lebedev, whose father worked as a KGB agent, was made a lifelong member of the upper house of the British Parliament in July 2020. MPs have demanded transparency over the appointment after The Sunday Times newspaper alleged that the security services initially said Lebedev’s peerage could pose a national security threat, but withdrew the advice after Prime Minister Boris Johnson personally intervened. Evgeny Lebedev attends the launch of the Centrepoint Awards at the HSBC private bank in London, on Nov. 19, 2015. (Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images) Johnson has denied he overrode the security assessment, but the House of Commons approved a Labour motion in March seeking to force the government to release documents about his involvement. ...

Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/uk-govern ... 64481.html