Fund a better media. Now, Carrie focusses her work efforts on. While the ISC report has been suppressed during Britains General Election campaign, another report was published in February this year by another official UK parliamentary committee the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, chaired by Conservative politician Damian Collins, into disinformation and fake news. Meanwhile, Lebedevs billionaire Moscow contemporary Alexander Mamut bought the bookshop chain Waterstones in 2011 for 53.5m. Union leader urges Health Secretary not to be disrespectful to striking nurses, Union boss hits out over criticism of strike on eve of Eurovision, Start-up backed by Sunaks wife given government grant, Celtic fans sing you can shove your coronation up your a***, Elevenses: Maybe its because were little Englanders, Elevenses: Exposing the Tories Deepfake Illegal Immigration Bill, Elevenses: Fear and Loathing in the New Conservatives, The Queen supports Black Lives Matter, royal aide reveals, YouTubers, Influencers and Internet Stars: The Content Creation economy, PMs wrap to Committee *I got under 21 mins before Dom has got to go*, Watch Boris Johnson on WTO terms theres a clarity and a simplicity in that approach, Imagine the wedding present list! Matthew Elliott was a founding member. Is it possible that the minister has acted so recklessly that he could be embarrassed by the Russian secret state? That same month, Tymofienko was photographed with another ex-Soviet oligarch, Alexander Temerko, and Conservative minister Philip Hammond at the Tory Party conference in Birmingham. Our leading investigations include: empire & the culture war,Brexit, crony contracts,Russian interference,the Coronavirus pandemic,democracy in danger, andthe crisis in British journalism. Firtashs silent business partner for some part of his career is alleged to have been Russias Al Capone-at-large, Semion The Brainy Don Mogilevich, himself linked to the Solntsevskaya Organized Crime Group. Byline Times is funded by its subscribers. RT @WriterJackWhite: In 2012 Johnson's "great friend" later expelled FSB spy Sergei Nalobin who attended the launch party of Conservative Friends of Russia with Harry Cole, & Vote Leave's Jag Singh, Carrie Symonds, John Whittingdale (& possibly Dominic Cummings & Matthew Elliott) arranged a 10 visit But that pales in comparison to the estimated price tag on Witanhurst, often referred to as Britains most expensive home. In 2012, Burnside took a Russian embassy diplomat, Sergei Nalobin, to a Conservative party fundraising dinner. The group described itself as "an organisation created for those with an interest in Russian politics, business, history and culture, with the aim of strengthening relations between the British and Russian communities and informing political decision making within both countries. Not bad going. [58], In February 2022, Carrie Johnson's spokeswoman denied that Johnson has influence over her husband amidst allegations from Tory peer Lord Ashcroft, who had written an unauthorised biography of her. At the end of November 2012 it emerged that the group's key contact at the Russian Embassy in London was First Secretary Sergey Nalobin, the son of a KGB/FSB general, whose brother also served in the FSB. Tymofienko set up an interview with a Ukrainian television station for her boss. Labour Leader Keir Starmer has asked whether Britain should ban television channel RT (formerly Russia Today). Guests included Conservative activists such as future Vote Leave chief Matthew Elliott. It also supplied the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) with a full report showing financial statements and minutes of meetings to demonstrate that there was no impropriety. Lucas, a journalist who was involved in calls to dissolve the Conservative Friends of Russia in 2013, has called its return a mushroom sprouting on top of a compost heap. In March 2014, Austrian authorities arrested Firtash on a multi-million bribery rap sought by the FBI. From 2011 onward, Nalobin met various British social media influencers at a regular Digital Barbecue. Another prominent figure is Andrei Borodin, the former president of the Bank of Moscow. In fact, the press had been sniffing around another woman entirely, Natalia Lokhanova, a 30-year-old from Belarus when she had gone out with Whittingdale four years before and the daughter of a Soviet military officer. She later recalled Worboys offering her champagne and vodka,[2] which she believed was spiked and, after returning home, began "vomiting and laughing hysterically before passing out until 3pm the next day". Ultimately he sold his shares for 550m in 2018 to the US sports tycoon Stan Kroenke. The real problem is the Russian influence operation in the serious think tanks, [in] the City of London, and [in] the large amounts of money being made by bankers, lawyers and accountants who focus on pushing the Russian regime, including by donating large amounts of money to political parties.. But Nalobins most controversial role was helping to establish the Conservative Friends of Russia. "[59], In June 2022, an article by Simon Walters appeared in The Times alleging that Boris Johnson recommended Carrie, who was then his mistress, as a candidate for a 100,000 per annum job as Chief-of-Staff in the Foreign Office while Johnson was Foreign Secretary. Under its original name, the Conservative Friends of Russia, the group facilitated a ten-day, all-expenses-paid junket to Russia in 2012, paid for by the Russian tourist government. The first event was co-hosted with blogger Paul Staines. In December 2012 it claimed victory in its campaign (as the newly formed Westminster Russia Forum [6] as the Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a new medal would be created. Johnson attended Lebedevs 60th birthday party the day after winning Decembers general election. You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER . The CFR said this was entirely coincidental. Ernest Reid, billed on the WRF website as its ambassador at large, has provided commentary for Russia Today and the WRF sympathetic to Russian foreign ministry objectives. ', "Carrie Johnson: I'm target of a brutal briefing campaign", "Senior Tory and Labour figures speak out over media focus on Carrie Johnson", "No 10 spoke to Times before Carrie Johnson story dropped", "Times journalist: I stand by my Johnson scoop", Spouses of the prime minister of the United Kingdom, 2019 Conservative Party leadership election, Death and funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, Trade negotiation between the UK and the EU, 2022 vote of confidence in the Johnson ministry, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carrie_Johnson&oldid=1151168239, People educated at Godolphin and Latymer School, Spouses of prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 April 2023, at 10:00. Our leading investigations include: empire & the culture war,Brexit, crony contracts,Russian interference,the Coronavirus pandemic,democracy in danger, andthe crisis in British journalism. Firtash and his entities deny any wrongdoing. A brief analysis of the data revealed that these accountstweeted about Brexit 1,525 times. Not another story about Whittingdale! I laugh about it all day.. She left the role shortly before it was publicly revealed she was dating Boris Johnson. Last October, Twitter closed down3,613 new Internet Research Agency accounts. The Lib Dem leader of Portsmouth City Council, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, has denounced the exemption as appalling, saying that the companys links with Russia meant special care had to be taken. All have homes in London, with several visiting regularly from Moscow. Byline Times is funded by its subscribers. Alexander Lebedev (left) and his son Evgeny (right), with the former chancellor George Osborne in September last year, when Osborne was editor of the Evening Standard. That interference includes both the Scottish and Brexit referendums and making worse our racial, economic and nationalist tensions by fuelling the far right, the far left and ultra-nationalism on social media. Pritchard sits on parliaments intelligence and security committee (ISC), which on Tuesday published its long-awaited Russia report. Ms Symonds wrote that the couple had a "baby hatching early s Its last activity was a retweet of a report by Russian Foreign Ministry-owned broadcaster Russia Today on 20 February, stating that de-escalation of military tensions in Ukraine was underway. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. [citation needed], Nevertheless, on 23 November 2012, the group publicly attacked the then chairman of the All-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Russia, Labour MP Chris Bryant, through the publication of a press release featuring a 10-year old picture, extracted from a dating website, depicting the MP in underwear. He would not be drawn on whether the Kremlin had interfered in the EU referendum vote in support of Leave, but said that he opposed Brexit. He was subsequently photographed in the company of the then Foreign Secretary at a fundraising event in Reading. A man in John Whittingdales position could be expected to answer them. (modern). Moreover, the report revealed how the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-backed St Petersburg-based troll farmindicted for election interference in the US, was simultaneously intervening in British politics, with a marked emphasis on stirring up Islamophobia and racial hatred. The group was founded in 2012 by Richard Royal, a communication specialist for Ladbrokes, and has held over 80 events since then. Symonds and Whittingdale were fixtures at beanos thrown by the Conservative Friends of Russia, a group set up with the help of Sergey Nalobin, widely suspected of being an FSB spy. Its chair, Nicholas Cobb, runs an energy communications firm focused on Russia and former Soviet republics, who has appeared on Russia Today as a pro-Moscow pundit. Its chair Nicholas Cobb subsequently provided openDemocracy with a comment, stressing that the group was member-funded and volunteer-run. [32][2], Symonds was previously in a relationship with The Sun journalist Harry Cole. Some of what follows is an investigation into Whittingdale I carried out for the BBC in 2016 and 2017, which was never broadcast. The problem is that Russias security services have no such scruples and that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has form when he was head of the KGB for identifying then Russias Prosecutor-General as the man in bed with two prostitutes on a grainy video. He said he had zero intention of going to Russia. Raffle prizes included a biography of Putin and bottles of vodka. Whittingdale enjoyed 14,435 of free trips to Ukraine and Vienna paid for by the British Ukraine Society (BUS) which shared the same Knightsbridge address as the Firtash Foundation and the main Firtash entity, Group DF. The organisation started life as the Conservative Friends of Russia - which Chairman Nic Cobb claims has been "dissolved" for years. Russias foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova went to his Moscow book launch. The committee estimated that the state-controlled channelsRTandSputniks pro-Leave websites garnered 134 million potential impressions nearly five times the reach of the two domestic campaigns combined (Vote Leave had 33 million impressions and Leave.EU had 11 million). The forum originally launched as Conservative Friends of Russia in 2012, a political interest group for those with an interest in Russian politics, business, history and culture, with the aim of strengthening relations between the British and Russian communities. We also introduce new voices of colour in Our Lives Matter. [24][25], Symonds became the Conservative Party's head of communications in 2018,[26] but left the position later that year,[17] taking up a job in public relations for the Oceana project. Since 2018 Aquind has donated 242,000 to the Conservatives, including the 8,000 to John Whittingdales election fund. Lebedev supported Russias takeover of Crimea and held a conference there in 2017 to counter what he said was western media bias. He has made a fortune of close to 1bn by founding dating apps, including the female-focused Bumble and Badoo. For the moment, Firtash continues to insist on his innocence and remains in Austria while he battles the Americans who want to lock him up. Though the gold consolidation deal was pursued for several months, Banks says he never took up any of these offers. On October 19 2015 Mistress Kate was scheduled to work at the London Retreat [her dungeon]. The forum originally launched as Conservative Friends of Russia in 2012, a political interest group for those with an interest in Russian politics, business, history and culture, with the aim of strengthening . [33], She began an affair with British politician Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, in 2018 while he was still married to his second wife, Marina Wheeler. After that meeting, Farage made almost monthly appearances on RT. But we can't do it without you. Two years later, at the UKIP Conference in October 2015, a senior embassy official, Alexander Udod, approached Farages new funder, Arron Banks, and invited him to meet the Russian Ambassador too. 23 Apr 2023 07:27:08 There is also the prime. Some have given money to political parties. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. In 2018, Udod was expelled from the UK as a suspected spy after the abortive assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal using the novichok nerve agent in Salisbury. Deripaska attracted public attention in 2008 over claims that he discussed making a donation to the Tories with George Osborne, during a meeting held aboard his yacht in the Mediterranean. 2. The Bow Group said No 10 needed to. He spent 40,000 on a portrait of Margaret Thatcher. [45] She was also influential in making sure that Lee Cain did not get a job as the prime minister's chief of staff,[46] and urged Boris Johnson to fire environment secretary George Eustice from his role. But the woman known to . Businesspeople born in the Soviet Union play a significant role in British business and politics. Farage supports other European right-wing politicians such as Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini who have received Russian funding. Boris Johnson's girlfriend and Tory PR guru, set to join new prime minister in 10 Downing Street", "Carrie Symonds: Who is Boris Johnson's fiancee? The Israeli-Russian billionaire has limited UK business interests outside football, but his extensive property portfolio includes a 15-bedroom mansion in Londons prestigious Kensington Palace Gardens, bought for 90m in 2011. By Anne McElvoy. In 2014, Reuters reported on documents that pointed to Putin extending credit lines to Firtash of up to $11 billion which helped the oligarch influence the 2010 Presidential Election in Ukraine. The minister responsible for answering appears to have a penchant for women from ex-Soviet states and is a recipient of money from a source with the same address as a pro-Kremlin oligarch. Bird, Steve; Sheridan, Danielle; Horton, Helena (3 May 2020). The big source of Firtashs money has been his control of entities supplying Russian gas to Ukraine. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Under its original name, the Conservative Friends of Russia, the group facilitated a ten-day, all-expenses-paid junket to Russia in 2012, paid for by the Russian tourist government agency, Rossotrudnichestvo. One Conservative Party guest on the Russia trip told openDemocracy that the forums current setup had no meaningful connection to CFR but despite its rebrand to WFR, the group today still refers to itself as having been founded in 2012. openDemocracy has also obtained emails showing that in 2013, during the Tory coalition with the Liberal Democrats, Russian diplomat Sergey Nalobin attempted to organise a similar trip to Russia for senior Lib Dems. As speculation continues to abound over just how Boris Johnson funded the revamp at No 11, Tatler revisits our April cover story on Carrie Symonds - in which Anne McElvoy first revealed the details of the circumstances surrounding the makeover. That October, Maria popped up in the House of Commons as the founder of the Global Friends of Ukraine (GFU), with patron John Whittingdale, who stuck the event on his website. Staines and his business partner, Jag Singh, who was active in Moscow during the 2011 election campaign, later worked for the Russian Embassy on political campaigning. "We are in no way funded by either government," he said, "receive no other support or direction, and are solely interested in promoting stronger trade, cultural and people to people ties. But the joke was at the publics expense. In an interview with the Guardian, Temerko said he was no friend of Putins, whom he called an enemy of democracy. She was a similar age and lived close to me. [42][43], Amid the Partygate scandal, she was issued with a fixed penalty notice in April 2022 for breaching COVID-19 regulations. Nicholas Cobb, chairman of the (now) Westminster Russia Forum, wrote to supporters saying that it is with a great regret and sadness that the group is to be shut down. Whittingdales love-in with Firtash is a sorry tale. This group was launched in the Russian Embassy's gardens in August 2012 by Yakovenko and Nalobin, and attended by senior Conservatives such as the then chair of the DCMS Committee, and soon-to-be Culture Minister, John Whittingdale, who was the group's honorary vice president. All have homes in London, with several visiting regularly from Moscow. As Sue Hawley, the director of Spotlight on Corruption, stated in OpenDemocracy: Friends of groups of political parties are alarmingly unregulated and provide a back door for unofficial lobbying, access and paid influence. Firtashs closeness to the Kremlin, his association with Trump consigliere-turned-convict Paul Manafort and his arrest warrant issued by the FBI are facts that can be reported and cannot be denied. Farages support for Putin was vocal until recently and he has twice described the Russian President as the most impressive world leader. [8] Nalobin invited the group to hold its launch party in August in the Kensington garden of the Russian ambassador, Alexander Yakovenko. While Yakovenko and Udod made overtures to UKIP and Nigel Farage, another expelled Russian diplomat, Sergei Nalobin, first secretary in the Russian Embassys political section, was reaching out to rebuild ties with the Conservative Party. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. Dont miss a story! The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work. The legendary oil dealmaker and former BP boss Lord Browne is executive chair of billionaire Mikhaeil Fridmans Letter One Energy group, which has a one-third stake in the oil and gas company Wintershall DEA. Concerns have been raised that unregulated pro-Moscow lobbyists at the heart of Westminster are using their links to Tory MPs to gain influence and respectability. Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski dubbed a Putin apologist by other MPs addressed the group in 2016, complaining There is very little debate in the House of Commons about Russia.. She's only 31, and plugged into a rising generation of hyper-ambitious millennials. Sergei Roldugin appeared in the Panama Papers. Lebdevev plus Carrie Johnson a founder member of Conservative Friends of Russia [31], Symonds was one of fourteen women who testified against Worboys at his trial. Cusick continued: To complete a required legal element of the story before publication, it was important Olivia King be given the opportunity to respond. The only pity is that now we must spend all our energy and resources on opposing Russia instead of improving Ukraine, writes Serhiy Guz, Join the conversation: get our weekly email, We encourage anyone to comment, please consult, Ukrainian journalist: We cannot choose when we die, but we can choose how, Ministers responsible for controversial sanction waivers, new rules say, Calls for lobbying crackdown after we expose 13m backdoor to MPs, Labours plans to tackle UKs dirty money problem need more ambition, Rishi Sunak cut air taxes and blocked climate levy after airline lobbying, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. [6], In 2007, aged 19, Symonds was driven home from a King's Road nightclub by taxi-driver John Worboys, who in 2009 was convicted of multiple sexual assaults on his passengers. Back in April 2016, Whittingdales adventurous private life was the subject of a joke by then Chancellor George Osborne in a speech to the parliamentary lobby. The following month, she was barred from entering the United States as her visa application was rejected due to a previous visit with her close friend Nimco Ali to Somaliland, which the US considers to be part of immigration-restricted Somalia. He says he wasnt thrown out of The Savoy but accepts a waiter did approach when she was kissing him after a customer complained., Whittingdale was the butt of Whitehall jokes. One of the other billionaires behind AAR, Sir Leonard (Len) Blavatnik, also wields significant influence in the UK. There are also slight partisan differences in the U.S. on the choice of a close relationship with Russia or Germany. This group was launched in the Russian Embassys gardens in August 2012 by Yakovenko and Nalobin, and attended by senior Conservatives such as the then chair of the DCMS Committee, and soon-to-be Culture Minister, John Whittingdale, who was the groups honorary vice president. Fridman and Browne enjoy a longstanding business relationship that includes the foundation of TNK-BP, a joint venture involving British oil supermajor BP and a group of three billionaires, including Fridman, under the banner AAR. (Matt Dunham/AP) LONDON British . One of the groups initial organisers in 2011 was Sergei Nalobin, a diplomat suspected of being a Russian agent. Although the WRF calls itself a think tank, there is no record of any research ever published by the group. The Russian connections to Vote Leave go beyond its chief executive Matthew Elliott. Shortly afterwards, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who had served as a minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and was then chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, resigned from the group, saying he had been unhappy for some time about the group's behaviour and "political direction". Spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom, 2010 London Conservative Party mayoral selection, Communities, Local Government and Housing Secretary, refurbishment of the 11 Downing Street flat, "Under new management: is Carrie Symonds the real power at No 10? [3] The group's launch gained mixed reviews in the media from proponents and opponents of the conservatives, with some journalists questioning its neutrality.[4]. Reportedly, Firtash used the gas gold to buy Ukrainian politicians to stay loyal to the Kremlin, up to and including disgraced Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. ", "PM's partner Carrie Symonds makes first speech since No 10 move", "Everything you need to know about Boris Johnson's fiance Carrie Symonds, who just gave birth to a baby boy", "Boris Johnson becomes UK's new prime minister", "Why Carrie Symonds is the embodiment of the Boris Johnson brand", "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds move into Downing Street", "The Women Who Stay With Problematic Men", "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds engaged and expecting baby", "Boris Johnson marries Carrie Symonds in secret wedding", "Boris Johnson marries Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral", "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds married in secret wedding ceremony at Westminster Cathedral", "Who is Carrie Symonds? The groups act as a conduit between the party and certain countries or regions. Jacks sister Mary is married to the Prime Ministers chief advisor, Dominic Cummings. ", "Who is Carrie Symonds? To return to Keir Starmers question, should Britain ban RT? U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson married fiance Carrie Symonds in a scaled down ceremony in Westminster Chapel Saturday that was kept secret in advance. All Rights Reserved. Receive our monthly print edition and help to support fearless, independent journalism. Westminster Russia Forum (WRF) was[1] a UK-wide voluntary organisation, which aims to promote improved relations with Russia. Another prominent associate of the group was Matthew Elliot, chief executive of the official Vote Leave campaign. introduced several prominent Kremlin figures to senior Conservatives. Whittingdale, then Culture Secretary, was in the room and appeared to take the gag well as he roared with laughter. The campaigns director, Dominic Cummings, spent three years in Russia from 1994 to 1997. Whittingdale was honorary vice-president of Conservative Friends of Russia until it was disbanded. About two-thirds of Democrats (66%) say they prefer close ties with Germany, compared with 57% of Republicans. [23] During this period, Symonds had a role running campaigns for the newly elected MP Zac Goldsmith. It looks like Happy Families, Russia-style. The WRF did not respond to openDemocracys questions on whether the event on March 4 would still go ahead. no less than 17 times between 2010 and 2014. invited him to meet the Russian Ambassador too, gold consolidation deal was pursued for several months, reported to be have been the handler of Russian spies in the UK, Bannon, Brexit, Johnson and Cambridge Analytica: the Daughter of Time, Boris Johnson and Donald Trumps Private Talks on Privatising the NHS Reveal Denials were Untrue, Suella Braverman to Address Radical 'National Conservatism' Event With Ties to US Right, Stereotyped and Belittled: Ukrainians Suffer from UK Asylum Policy, Demonising Inflation and the True Cost of Living. A few miles across north London lies Arsenal Football Club, in which the Uzbek-born Russian metals, mining and publishing billionaire Alisher Usmanov was a long-time shareholder even at one time considering a full takeover. [13] Their son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born on 29 April 2020 in London. The dam broke first with a piece by Nick Mutch on Byline.com, setting out Whittingdales non-registration of a trip with King to the MTV Awards in Amsterdam. One of Londons most successful Russian businessmen is Andrey Andreev. Boris Johnson marries fiancee in 'secret ceremony', "Carrie Symonds: who is Boris Johnson's live-in girlfriend? Lebedev funded Russias independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper. [2][8] In July 2019, Johnson became prime minister and both he and Symonds officially moved into the flat above 11 Downing Street. The SNP is calling on Villiers to return the money. The inquiry, which the Bow Group says should be "independent of the Government and the Conservative Party", needed to consider the specific role Ms Symonds plays in Downing Street, details of .
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