Alarmed Government insiders allegedly tried to get the Queen to block a peerage after Boris Johnson ignored security service warnings, a bombshell documentary claims.
The former PM has been heavily criticised after elevating Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords, with sources claiming officials took the unprecedented step of turning to the Palace to block the nomination.
Channel 4's Dispatches alleges that the UK's allies in NATO were worried about the influence of Lord Lebedev and his father - former KGB spy Alexander - but Mr Johnson was allegedly determined to make the appointment.
Security services even met with the former PM in Downing Street urging him not to go ahead, it is claimed, amid fears over his access to sensitive information.
The programme, named Boris, the Lord & The Russian Spy, will include claims that Mr Johnson became the first PM to allegedly overrule intelligence advice over national security for a parliamentary nomination.
Mr Johnson has come out fighting, with a spokesman dismissing it as a "tiresome and xenophobic campaign, while Lord Lebedev denied security services tried to block his appointment..
The programme, set to be aired on Tuesday, will claim:
- The House of Lords Appointments Committee (Holac), recommened against making Mr Lebedev a peer because of his ‘familial links’ and his ability to gain access to sensitive government materials
- Security services gave Mr Johnson a briefing in person at Downing Street, in a desperate attempt to persuade the then PM to halt the nomination
- When this did not change his mind, Government officials contacted Buckingham Palace to ask whether the Queen could intervene - but the Palace refused
Lord Clark, who sat on Holac at that time, told filmmakers of Mr Johnson: "He tried to overrule – and did overrule – the security advisers and the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
"The whole point of the House of Lords Appointments Commission was actually to try and give the civil population a real say in the safety, their safety, of the country…I would think it’s probably unheard of in modern times"
Amd he continued: " I’ve never heard of officials seeking a meeting with Her Majesty to discuss these issues.
"We’ve got to remember these people, they are aware of things which you and I, aren’t aware of. And therefore they have knowledge. And they were really concerned about this. They thought it was a major major mistake.”
And the influential peer said Mr Johnson was "determined" to bring his friend into the Lords, saying: " He disregarded the constitution and that is a very dangerous position.”
Lord Foulkes, a former member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, claimed: “ I know of no other example where the Prime Minister has overruled intelligence advice on the grounds of national security…I
"t makes a mockery of the House of Lords. It makes a mockery of our whole parliamentary structure.”
And former MI6 officer Christopher Steele told the programme: "This is the first case where we've seen a significant national security concern in the appointment of a member of Parliament, certainly in the House of Lords."
Alexaner Lebedev was sanctioned by Canada following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Former Canadian intelliogence analyst Dennis Molinaro told Dispatches: “Alexander has some type of connection to the Kremlin and to Putin and is worthy of being sanctioned in Canada.
"I don't see there's any way that someone like Alexander, who was formerly so ingrained in the KGB, could walk away from that, especially if the Russian government could see Alexander's connections outside of the KGB as being potentially valuable."
A source close to Mr Johnson said Holac wasn't overruled, and said the proper process was followed.
A spokesman for the former PM said: ‘Boris Johnson is fully supportive of Lord Lebedev’s appointment.
‘As the government has previously confirmed, HOLAC and security advice was not overruled. The proper process was followed. As this programme makes clear, there were no concerns about Lord Lebedev.
‘Lord Lebedev is a British citizen. He has invested in British journalism and has extensively criticised the Russian regime.
‘It is not right to judge people on the basis of their country of birth or the sound of their surname. This is a tiresome and xenophobic campaign.’
Lord Lebedev, who owns a majority stake in the Evening Standard and is an invester in The Independent, told Dispatches no attempt to dissuade Mr Johnson was made by the security services.
In an article last year he wrote that he is "not a security risk to this country, which I love".
He wrote: "My father, a long time ago, was a foreign intelligence agent of the KGB, but I am not some agent of Russia."
And the piece continued: "Being Russian does not automatically make one an enemy of the state, and it is crucial we do not descend into Russophobia, like any other phobia, bigotry or discrimination.
"Like you, I pray for President Putin to end the war in Ukraine."
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
