Banned Chechen leader pleads: ‘Let me tour London’

CHECHEN warlord Ramzan Kadyrov may have sent his feared soldiers to support Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine but all he really wants to do is wander through Trafalgar Square, mull over masterpieces in the National Portrait Gallery and read Shakespeare.

In a plea to Boris Johnson on Telegram, Mr Kadyrov asked for British sanctions on him be removed so that he could realise his childhood dream.

“I want to visit,” he wrote. “To walk around London, enjoy the views of the Thames, look at Big Ben, wander around Trafalgar Square, and to indulge high-minded thoughts in the National Portrait Gallery.”

Mr Kadyrov also said he wanted to soak up more British culture.

“Why do you not let the dream come true of a tourist who just wants to plunge into the world of Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes?” he said.

Mr Kadyrov has ruled over Chechnya in southern Russia since 2007. He is a staunch ally of Mr Putin and has been accused of ruling Chechnya by fear and torture, accusations that he has denied.

In his message on his Telegram channel, Mr Kadyrov warned what he would do if he didn’t get his way.

“My anger is terrible, and my revenge uncontrollable,” he said.