Aides asked Queen Elizabeth II to block Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage, claims documentary

The British government asked whether Queen Elizabeth II would block the peerage of Russian-British businessman Evgeny Lebedev due to security concerns, according to a documentary.

Officials decided to intervene in 2020 after Boris Johnson, prime minister at the time, decided to press ahead with the appointment,

This was despite warnings Mr Johnson received from security services about links Mr Lebedev's father Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB officer, had to Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia.

Buckingham Palace declined to block Evgeny Lebedev's appointment to the House of Lords, the UK Parliament's upper chamber.

It feared the monarch would be dragged into politics, despite being constitutionally entitled to intervene, reported The Guardian.

Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Evening Standard and an investor in The Independent, was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia that December.

UK intelligence community briefed the House of Lords Appointments Commission to say Evgeny Lebedev was considered a possible security risk, not by himself, but because Alexander Lebedev is a billionaire oligarch, according to the Channel 4 documentary, Boris, the Lords and the Russian Spy: Dispatches.

It claims two intelligence officers briefed Mr Johnson in person to discuss the matter in the spring of 2020, and officials then contacted Buckingham Palace to share their concerns.

Lord Clark, a Labour peer and member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission who vetted Evgeny Lebedev’s nomination, told The Guardian Mr Johnson was determined to “get his own way”.

He said: “I’ve never heard of officials seeking a meeting with Her Majesty to discuss these issues.

“We’ve got to remember these people, they are aware of things which you and I, aren’t aware of. Therefore, they have knowledge. They were really concerned about this. They thought it was a major, major mistake.”

Alexander Lebedev, a KGB spy in London between 1988 and 1992, was one of 13 Russian oligarchs placed under sanctions by Canada in May 2022 for allegedly facilitating Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The documentary claims Canada’s decision to impose sanctions came in part from intelligence from the MI6 security service.

The UK government had not imposed sanctions on Alexander Lebedev.

Dennis Molinaro, a Canadian former national security analyst, told the documentary it was unclear why “nothing’s been done in terms of sanctioning him”.

“My concern would be based on Alexander’s history in the UK, that he has been engaged in a level of influence operations in the UK,” said Mr Molinaro.

“If you have politicians that can be compromised by foreign states, it can lead to sharing of secrets. It could lead to steering of policy in their interests.

“It could lead to a fracturing of an alliance that the West has depended on to maintain the current international order and system. If that goes, we don’t have much left.”

Alexander Lebedev was approached for comment, while Buckingham Palace declined to comment, according to the newspaper.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson told The Guardian: “Boris Johnson is fully supportive of Lord Lebedev’s appointment.

“As the government has previously confirmed, Holac and security advice was not overruled. The proper process was followed. As this programme makes clear, there were no concerns about Lord Lebedev.

“Lord Lebedev is a British citizen. He has invested in British journalism and has extensively criticised the Russian regime.

“It is not right to judge people on the basis of their country of birth or the sound of their surname. This is a tiresome and xenophobic campaign,” added the spokesman.

Evgeny Lebedev has previously said he is not a security risk and his family “has a record of standing up for press freedom in Russia”.

“I am not some agent of Russia,” Evgeny Lebedev wrote in an article for The Evening Standard.

Mr Johnson's resignation honours list, published hours before he dramatically quit as an MP in June, generated criticism and questions over the appointments.

Mr Johnson handed peerages to former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, while giving staunch loyalists Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel a knighthood and a damehood respectively.

The list also featured Charlotte Owen, a 29-year-old former adviser to Mr Johnson, who will become one of the country’s youngest peers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said he had “no involvement or input into the approved list”.