Boris Johnson denies intervening over Evgeny Lebedev peerage

Boris Johnson has denied intervening over a peerage for a Russian-born businessman after security concerns were allegedly raised.

The Sunday Times claimed security services withdrew its assessment that giving the honour to Evgeny Lebedev posed a security risk after the PM got involved.

Mr Johnson told reporters that the article was "simply incorrect".

But he would not say if he met Lord Lebedev in March 2020 to discuss it.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for a senior parliamentary committee to investigate the claim, saying he was "very concerned" about the case.

But Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab insisted there had been no "impropriety".

Lord Lebedev, who owns the Independent and the London Evening Standard newspapers, was given a peerage in July 2020.

The son of billionaire Russian banker and former KGB officer Alexander Lebedev, he came to London at the age of eight when his father began working in the Soviet embassy.

He holds both Russian and British citizenship.

Earlier this week Lord Lebedev published a letter to Vladimir Putin in which he urged the Russian president to "bring this terrible conflict in Ukraine to an end".

He wrote: "As a Russian citizen I plead with you to stop Russians killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters."

The Sunday Times claimed that in March 2020, the commission that vets peerage appointments advised the prime minister against granting the newspaper owner a seat in the House of Lords due to security concerns.

Mr Johnson, who ultimately decides who gets a peerage, is said to have responded to the advice by claiming it was "anti-Russianism".

Asked about the report on Monday, the PM said it would "obviously be extraordinary" if he had intervened, "but that's not the case".

He would not answer questions as to whether he met Lord Lebedev in 2020 to discuss giving him the peerage.

But he said he did not want to see the crisis in Ukraine turn into a "witch-hunt against every Russian in the UK", adding: "That suits Putin's agenda.

"He's going to want to frame this as a conflict between Russia and the West."

Responding to the newspaper, Lord Lebedev also said the allegations were incorrect.