Tories will not hand back Russian donations

THE Conservative Party will not hand back £820,000 in donations from Russian oligarchs and their associates, the Chancellor has said, because it would be wrong to “tar them with Putin’s brush”.

Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander Litvinenko, the murdered former KGB agent, is among those who have called for the Tories to return money from Russians who have become British citizens, saying: “You need to be sure what kind of money these people bring to the country.”

But Philip Hammond said that anyone who became a British citizen and lived under UK law should have “full participation rights in our society”, including the right to make political donations.

The Conservatives have received more than £3million from wealthy Russianborn donors since 2010, including £826,100 from Russian-linked supporters since Theresa May became prime minister.