UK withholds security advice over peerage for oligarch’s son

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British government is refusing to reveal whether intelligence agencies expressed concerns about the decision to award a noble title and a seat in Parliament to a businessman whose father was a KGB agent. Lawmakers ordered the government to release documents related to the appointment of Russia-born newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords. But on Thursday the Conservative government published partial documents that contain no security information. The government said it was withholding other information “to protect national security.” Opposition politicians have demanded to know about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s involvement in ennobling of Lebedev, whose oligarch father Alexander Lebedev is a former KGB agent.