Boris Johnson has been accused of an “incredible” breach of transparency rules after an openDemocracy investigation found that the prime minister had a “personal” meeting with influential Russian oligarch Evgeny Lebedev’s company days after telling the British public to avoid all “non-essential contact with others”.
On March 19, Johnson met with Lebedev Holdings at his private residence. Number 10 has refused to say who was present at this meeting besides the prime minister but Lebedev Holdings, which owns the Evening Standard and the Independent, is controlled by Evgeny Lebedev.
Johnson has long been close to Lebedev. As openDemocracy revealed last year, the Tory leader has been a regular guest at parties “where nothing is off the menu” in the Russian’s lavish villa in Umbria. Earlier this year, the prime minister nominated Lebedev for a seat in the House of Lords.
