Lord Barker resigns from Russian oligarch-linked firm EN+

Lord Barker has stepped down as chairman of a company which owns an aluminium giant founded by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

The Conservative peer's resignation from EN+, which owns metal firm Rusal, came as he faced pressure to cut ties following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Deripaska, an industrialist with close ties to Vladimir Putin, has been sanctioned in the US but not in the UK.

Lord Barker earned $4m (£3m) in 2020 from EN+ and $7.8m in 2019.

Although Lord Barker has resigned, the Sunday Times reported it is understood that he plans to take over large parts of the business in a restructuring aimed at distancing the company from Russia.

In a London stock market statement, EN+ said it was considering "carving out" Rusal's international business. It has not announced if Lord Barker is part of its plans.

The firm said Lord Barker's departure would take effect after he hands over the chairmanship to Christopher Bancroft Burnham, the company's current senior independent director.

Mr Deripaska is one of the richest men associated with President Putin - having made billions from his stake in Russia's aluminium industries, including EN+, which he owns 45% of.

He first became widely known in the UK in 2008, when it emerged he had been involved in talks over a donation to the Conservative Party via George Osborne. The donation was never made - but the story triggered a row at the time about links between British politicians and Russia's elites.

Politicians with links to Russian oligarchs have been criticised since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the Institute of Directors (IoD) saying it is "no longer tenable for British directors to be involved in governance roles in the Russian economy".

"Although directors owe legal duties to the companies on whose boards they serve, they should also feel a stronger moral duty to uphold the fundamental values of freedom and democracy," said Jonathan Geldart, director general of the IoD.

In a poll of its members, the IoD said 86% supported the view that all British people should now resign their Russian board mandates.

Senior politicians also called on Lord Barker to sever ties to Mr Deripaska, rather than continuing to work for companies linked to the billionaire.

Former Tory minister David Davis told the Sunday Times: "As a matter of law, people like him should be disqualified from holding office in those companies."

Lord Barker was appointed as independent chairman of the EN+ after the company was listed on stock markets in London and Moscow in 2017, before being appointed executive chairman in 2019.

He was previously a member of the House of Commons from 2001 to 2015, before he was made a life peer. He took a leave of absence from the House of Lords in 2019 on taking up his position with EN+.

Separately, Sandra Stash, an American non-executive director of Russian steel company Evraz has stepped down from the firm's board.

Evraz is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is part-owned by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, who has a 29% stake in the company.

Ms Stash became the second member of the company's board to step down in the past few days. James Rutherford, a British member of the board, stepped down last week.