PM criticises Starmer’s stance on Russian political donations

BORIS JOHNSON has accused Sir Keir Starmer of attempting to “open the gates to a flood” of political donations from foreign citizens, including Russians living in Britain.

In a letter sent to the Labour leader on the Prime Minister’s behalf, Lord True, the Cabinet Office minister, criticised the Welsh Labour government and SNP for recent changes to the law which he said gave Russian citizens living in Wales and Scotland “the right to make unlimited donations” to political parties for the first time.

The minister, replying to a letter sent to Mr Johnson by Sir Keir last month, also highlighted and criticised a bid by the Labour front bench to amend the Government’s Elections Bill to allow all foreign nationals to vote in UK elections – and consequently donate to political parties.

The intervention comes after repeated calls by Labour for the Conservatives to hand back all the money it has received “from Russian-linked donations”.

On Feb 23, following a tussle over the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir

Keir wrote to Mr Johnson calling for him to back Labour amendments to the Elections Bill, which the Labour leader said would safeguard against shell companies and individuals with no UK connections being able to donate to British political parties.

Responding on Mr Johnson’s behalf on Friday, Lord True insisted that the

‘It is the Labour Party which would open the gates to a flood of foreign citizen money into British politics’

legislation “closes loopholes on foreign spending – making it harder for shadowy third parties to spend money campaigning at UK elections”.

In the letter, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, the Cabinet Office minister added: “It is the Labour Party which would open the gates to a flood of foreign citizen money into British politics.”

A Labour spokesman described Lord True’s claims as “nonsense”, insisting that it was the Conservatives that had “accepted millions of pounds from Russian-linked donors”.