The organisation started life as the Conservative Friends of Russia - which Chairman Nic Cobb claims has been "dissolved" for years. It has existed in some form for a decade, yet is not required to register as a lobbyist, sparking fears that pro-Putin interests could be influencing opinion unchecked. [13] Symonds married Johnson in 2021. All rights reserved. According to the Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry last week, an official-level whistleblower has raised concerns about Cummings time in Russia, and questions about his relationships with figures in Russian politics, intelligence, and security as well as his relationship with Nalobins Conservative friends of Russia. But that pales in comparison to the estimated price tag on Witanhurst, often referred to as Britains most expensive home. The DCMS Committee also found evidence that Russia had access to a Cambridge Analytica database which been compiled through the hacking of 50 to 170 million Facebook users and deployed this during both the EU Referendum and the 2016 Presidential Election campaign to target UK and US voters. Carrie Symonds has dismissed reports that she and Boris Johnson are getting rid of their pet dog Dilyn. 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. We also introduce new voices of colour in Our Lives Matter. John Whittingdale MP and Carrie Symonds, then a young Tory party worker and now Johnsons fiancee, were among the guests. According to Reuters, Temerko describes himself as a friend who would plot late into the night over a bottle of wine when Johnson became Foreign Secretary. Whittingdale was for a time a director of the BUS, as was DFs former CEO, Robert Shetler-Jones. Think of the person behind the recent raft of Conservative animal welfare policies, and one name springs to mind - the Prime Minister's fiancee, Carrie Symonds.. According to CNN, the evidence of Bill Browder, the campaigner behind the anti-corruption Magnitsky Acts, suggests that Russias President, Vladimir Putin, has deployed Russians to infiltrate UK society and to conceal the underlying Russian controllers and their agendas. 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! Elements of the suppressed report have now leaked out. He has strongly denied that he is a Kremlin agent. In January 2020, Whittingdale received 8,000 from Aquind Ltd, the mysterious Russia-linked company planning a billion-pound undersea electricity grid connector between Britain and France which wont reveal the identity of the party that controls it. By the spring of 2016, four newspapers the Mirror, the Sun, the Mail on Sunday and The Independent had the story of Whittingdales extraordinary relationship with professional dominatrix Olivia King, also known as Mistress Kate, but had not run it. We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. Although the WRF calls itself a think tank, there is no record of any research ever published by the group. 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. ", "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? From 2011 onward, Nalobin met various British social media influencers at a regular Digital Barbecue. Three named directors are Richard Glasspool, a former partner at KPMG Russia and former head of the risk committee of the Credit Bank of Moscow, run by Putin-friendly oligarch Roman Avdeev; Kirill Glukhovskoy, formerly a senior lawyer with major Russian energy companies according to the Aquind website; and oligarch Alexander Temerko. [9], The group's Board lost all of its Conservative MPs amid allegations of being too close to the Russian authorities and it was rebranded as the Westminster Russia Forum, a non-partisan group, which claims to promote an open platform to debate various issues such as international diplomacy, energy security and internal political systems. Minister John Whittingdale was the groups honorary vice-president when it first launched, he attended the opening with then office aide Carrie Symonds, now Carrie Johnson, wife of Prime Minister Johnson. The Russia Report by Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) stated: The UK is clearly a target for Russias disinformation campaigns and political influence operations and must therefore equip itself to counter such efforts., Britains intelligence agencies told the committee: They informed us that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) holds primary responsibility for disinformation campaigns.. As Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee in the US, has said: From what weve seen, the parallels between the Russian intervention in Brexit and the Russian intervention in the Trump campaign appear to be extraordinary., Here is a summary of findings of Russian influence in Britain so far which Boris Johnson doesnt want you to see. "Baby Johnson named in tribute to doctors". In 2012, Burnside took a Russian embassy diplomat, Sergei Nalobin, to a Conservative party fundraising dinner. As soon as I discovered, I ended the relationship., Oliver writes that he approved the press release and tracked down Whittingdale, who was about to attend a Vote Leave dinner: He is clear that he didnt realise he was going out with a prostitute who specialises in sado-masochism., The Number 10 media supremo said he put to Whittingdale the unreported press interest in his string of Russian girlfriends. A gangster with a conviction for firearms was also reportedly going out with King at the same time as Whittingdale and was trying to sell tapes of King talking about what she did with the then Culture Secretary. [47] She was additionally involved in a political controversy over the refurbishment of the 11 Downing Street flat,[47] and her comments over the flat's decor being a "John Lewis furniture nightmare" (John Lewis typically being an aspirational, upper-middle-class shop) led to accusations of snobbery. If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. As the report states: The extent to which Russian expatriates are using their access to UK businesses and politicians to exert influence in the UK is ***. The committees asterisks cover a multitude of sins. A former security official told the Byline Times he could absolutely confirm that members of the intelligence services are aware and concerned. The WRF, which loudly echoes official lines from Moscow, has links with numerous Conservative MPs and other senior UK political figures. There is no suggestion that Shetler-Jones, Lords Oxford and Risby are now batting for the other side. In late 2017, Byline revealed that the Maltese-born professor Joseph Mifsud, named as a Russian intermediary in the Mueller Investigation, was telling colleagues he was going to meet Boris Johnson to discuss Brexit. Jacks sister Mary is married to the Prime Ministers chief advisor, Dominic Cummings. It is unclear whether the trip went ahead. 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. 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. In 2016, however, he wrote a column in the Evening Standard defending Vladimir Putin after the Russian presidents close friend Sergei Roldugin appeared in the Panama Papers. 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. 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. UPDATE (9 March 2022): This article has been amended at the request of Ernest Reid to clarify his role within the WRF. There are also slight partisan differences in the U.S. on the choice of a close relationship with Russia or Germany. 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. He also sponsors the Baillie Gifford literature prize and is the main benefactor of multiple London museums and art galleries. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations. 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. That deal left BP with a near-20% stake in the Kremlin-backed company, making cordial Russian relations vital for BP. Westminster Russia Forum (WRF) was a UK-wide voluntary organisation, which aims to promote improved relations with Russia. All Rights Reserved. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. She subsequently worked in marketing. He later left Moscow and became a British citizen in 2011. 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. [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. Whittingdale had been protected from scrutiny for a long time. How party donations, sports teams and lavish London residences have granted access to highest echelons of public life. Nalobin, who now lives in a Moscow apartment block known as the FSB block, is the son of Nikolai Nalobin, a former KGB general. Borodin said he did not discuss party policy at the event, nor make a donation. Guests included Conservative activists such as future Vote Leave chief Matthew Elliott. But his return to the frontbench might be explained by the fact that his one-time special advisor was Carrie Symonds, the Prime Ministers partner and mother of his fifth or sixth child. The soon-to-be married couple adopted the Jack Russell-cross shortly after arriving in. Oliver wrote: The following weekend The Mail on Sunday has new allegations about him and a woman called Stephanie Hudson, a former soft porn actress. I feel so angry that he pleaded not guilty and made us go through the pain of giving evidence in court". In 2014, he fired its editor, Galina Timchenko, after she published an interview with a Ukrainian nationalist. Though the gold consolidation deal was pursued for several months, Banks says he never took up any of these offers. In 2014, Whittingale was photographed in Ukrainian fancy dress in London with Maria Tymofienko, who styled herself in emails as Assistant to John WhittingdaleMP Chair All-Party ParliamentaryGroup on Ukraine. The following year, Burnside invited Vasily Shestakov, an influential MP in Russias Duma, to the same Tory fundraising dinner. He defended the donations in media interviews on Thursday. Peter Jukes reports on more revelations about the transatlantic right-wing network, and why the Government is withholding key information on the former Prime Ministers role, The former Prime Minister feared his discussions with the US President about privatising the NHS would cause "mischief" if they became public, according to a new book, The Home Secretary is a keynote speaker at the conference, which has previously hosted Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban, reports Karam Bales, Natalia Kogut and Maren Rohe explore the challenges Ukrainian refugees face accessing healthcare, housing and work under the Government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, Anthony Yates looks at Rishi Sunak's promises over inflation which might help him cynically suppress public pay demands but do nothing to address the roots of our economic malaise, Exclusive analysis by Byline Times uncovers the staggering amounts being paid by forces for public and employer liability claims, Byline Media Holdings Ltd, Byline Times &, indicted for election interference in the US, 3,613 new Internet Research Agency accounts. Receive our monthly print edition and help to support fearless, independent journalism. Luke Hardings latest book Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem and Russias Remaking of the West (Guardian Faber) is available from the Guardian Bookshop. The group was founded in 2012 by Richard Royal, a communication specialist for Ladbrokes, and has held over 80 events since then. gamersunite june's journey sweep the board, benjamin moore paris rain undertones, volkswagen interior lights won't turn off,

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