MI5: Give us laws to track Putin’s stooges

BRITAIN’s spy agencies want the Government to introduce a law that would force foreign lobbyists to register in the UK.

MI5 is said to be demanding that figures working for Vladimir Putin’s regime and other hostile states disclose their actions in the same way they have to in the US.

Such a move could see Kremlin-backed news outlets for example, forced to hand over information if suspected of activity linked to spying. Bill Browder, dubbed Putin’s ‘public enemy number 1’ after fighting to uncover Russian money laundering, will appear before the foreign affairs select committee today. Last night, the British financier said: ‘There are all sorts of Russian influence polluting the political process. If you are a lobbyist or high-level lawyer and you are working on behalf of a foreign government, you should have to disclose that.’ America’s Foreign Agents Registration Act requires anyone acting on behalf of a foreign government to disclose their activities.