Boris Johnson's ethics chief urged to investigate Raab defence of Lebedev peerage

Boris Johnson’s ethics chief as been urged to investigate Dominic Raab’s defence of the Prime Minister over Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage.

Labour ’s deputy leader Angela Rayner today wrote to Lord Geidt, the PM’s adviser on the ministerial code, suggesting Mr Raab may have misled MPs “on a matter of national security.”

It follows claims Mr Johnson challenged warnings from security services to give a peerage to Mr Lebedev - a media mogul and son of ex-KGB agent Alexander.

Mr Johnson himself has insisted it is “simply incorrect” that he personally or directly asked for the advice to be reversed.

And at PMQs on Wednesday, Deputy PM Mr Raab on branded the claims “sheer nonsense.”

But Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s former top aide, used a blog post to claim he had been in the room when Cabinet Office officials informed Mr Johnson about the concerns.

Dominic Raab defended the PM yesterday, saying the claims were "nonsense" (PA)

"I supported these concerns and said to the PM in his study explicitly that he should not go ahead," he wrote.

"He was very cross and as he does when cross he blustered nonsense.

"‘This is just … You’re just … [pause] ANTI-RUSSIAN!’"

Mr Cummings claimed two others who were in the room would back his version of events in court.

Writing to Lord Geidt, Ms Rayner said: “The Deputy Prime Minister seems to have been answering crucial questions about the security risk posed by an individual appointed at the heart of our democracy, based on incorrect information.

“He specifically described the Prime Minister’s knowledge of such security advice, and subsequent decision to ignore it, instead providing a revised version to HOLAC, as “sheer nonsense”.

“In so doing, the Deputy Prime Minister made a clear statement about the facts in this case – facts which have now been directly refuted by the Prime Minister’s then Chief of Staff.”

She added: “We cannot be in a position where senior Ministers can simply ignore their duties under the Code and mislead the Commons about a matter of national security.

“For that reason, I request that you take all necessary steps to seek to investigate this case, in order to determine whether the Ministerial Code has been breached.

“Any such investigation must surely begin by hearing the evidence of the former Chief of Staff, and the other officials present in the meeting he describes, as well as any documentation of that meeting and the Prime Minister’s subsequent decision to nominate Lord Lebedev regardless of concerns raised.”