The Conservative Party has accepted £280,000 from Russia-linked donors in the year since the publication of the Russia Report, new analysis has found.
And almost £2 million in Russian-linked cash has been donated to the Tories since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister.
The Intelligence and Security Committee’s findings last year revealed failures at the heart of Government to tackle Russian interference and influence in our democracy.
But none of the 21 recommendations in the report have been implemented.
And a year after its publication, Labour say the Conservative Party is putting Britain’s national security “up for sale to the highest bidder.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Whether it’s turning a blind eye to Russian interference in our elections, or cosying up to oligarchs who hand out millions in political donations – the Tories have serious questions to answer.
“After a year of inaction from the Tories, it’s time for Boris Johnson to come clean about what these donors are receiving in return for their murky millions.”
The heavily-redacted report noted that there had been widespread allegations that Russia sought to influence voters in the 2016 Brexit referendum – and that the government and intelligence agencies had failed to fully look into them.
And it uncovered an influx of Russian money into the UK – and into “Londongrad” in particular – following the introduction of the “investor visa” scheme in 1994.
(Image: Getty Images)
The scheme, introduced for the first time by John Major’s Tory government, allowed wealthy oligarchs to “buy” citizenship in exchange for a £2 million investment in UK bonds or shares through a bank.
The so-called “golden visa” scheme was suspended in 2018 over fears it was being used for money laundering, but was restarted the following year.
The report said the money was invested in building influence across the UK establishment – including “PR firms, charities, political interests, academia and cultural institutions” – all of whom were “willing beneficiaries of Russian money.”
And it went on to say: “In brief, Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’, and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth.”
The report noted that “several members” of the Russian elite – some of whom had close links to Vladimir Putin – have donated to UK political parties.
But the report – at least in its redacted form – did not name the donors or the parties benefiting from the cash.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of the donors, all of whom are now British citizens and are legally entitled to donate to UK political parties.
Among the figures filling Tory coffers is banker Lubov Chernukhin, who is married to Putin’s former deputy finance minister Vladimir Chernukhin, has given a total of £1.7 million to the party.
(Image: Liz Truss / Instagram)
These donations have included bids at fundraising auctions at the notorious Tory Black and White Ball, where over the years she has secured a night out with Theresa May, a tennis match with Boris Johnson and a private dinner with then-Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson in the Churchill War Rooms.
She has donated almost £65,000 to the Tories in the last year.
In March the Conservatives received £50,000 from Access Industries, the firm owned by Len Blavatnik, Britain’s richest man with an estimated fortune of £23bn.
Mr Blavatnik is understood to have made much of his fortune in 1990s Russia, where he invested heavily in the state’s largest aluminium firm and its third-largest oil producer.
But while many of his contemporaries – who maintained closer links to the Kremlin – have found themselves sanctioned by Western nations, Mr Blavatnik secured British citizenship in 2010 and a knighthood in 2017.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)
Mr Blavatnik donated to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund. While he was not mentioned in the unredacted sections of Robert Mueller’s report in to Russian meddling in US elections, it was widely reported that he was under scrutiny from the probe.
And Alexander Temerko, a wealthy businessman whose Aquind firm is awaiting government approval for a billion pound electricity interconnector under the Channel, has also been a frequent donor in recent years.
Mr Temerko, who has been a critic of President Putin, and his firm have given more than £1.6 million to the Tories.
A Spokesperson for Mr Temerko said: “Mr. Temerko is a Ukrainian-born British citizen and has no links to Russia.
“Mr. Temerko left Russia in 2003, following his political persecution in the well-known Yukos Oil Company case by the Putin regime.
“Since then, he has never returned to Russia, nor worked for or partnered with any Russian-linked business.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The Conservative Party does not accept foreign donations – as they are illegal.
“There are people in this country of Russian origin who are British citizens and have the democratic right to donate to a political party.
“Donations to the Conservative party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.”
Get a daily morning politics briefing straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Politics newsletter
The Government’s official response to the review, published a year ago, said: “The Government has long recognised there is an enduring and significant threat posed by Russia to the UK and its allies, including conventional military capabilities, disinformation, illicit finance, influence operations, and cyber-attacks.
“As such, Russia remains a top national security priority for the Government.”
