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06th Jul 2022

Exposed over Chris Pincher lies, PM admits he was deceitful over Alexander Lebedev meeting as well

Ava Evans

PM has admitted meeting the oligarch while he was foreign secretary

Boris Johnson has told the liaison committee he thinks it is correct that he met Alexander Lebedev without officials when he was foreign secretary.

Asked by Labour’s Dame Diana Johnson if he informed his officials about meeting the former KGB agent, he replied: “I think so, yes.”

Lebedev was not sanctioned by Johnson earlier this year – despite having been identified as a key member of “President Putin’s inner circle”.

The former KGB officer was sanctioned by Canada, who argued Lebedev was among those who had “directly enabled Vladimir Putin’s senseless war in Ukraine”.

His son Evgeny Lebedev sits in the House of Lords.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated…