News / Politics

Senior Tories demand transparency on 'Russia-linked' infrastructure project

Saturday, 25 July 2020 6:09 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 25 July 2020 6:09 PM ]

Boris Johnson seen here with Alexander Temerko, the director of Aquind Limited. It is not clear if Temerko, who is a former official in the Russian defense ministry, is the man referred to in latest media reports

The ripple effects emanating from the Russia report continue to reverberate across the British political landscape with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Long-awaited Russia Report triggers political storm in Britain

Parliament

The Times reported yesterday (July 24) that a group of “senior Tories” is demanding the disclosure of the name of the “Russian tycoon” who is reportedly the mastermind of one of Britain’s “biggest infrastructure projects”.

Energy firm Aquind is responsible for developing a high voltage, direct current submarine power cable between England and France under the English Channel as part of its Interconnector project.

At a strategic level, the project aspires to link the British and French electric power grids with a view to enhancing efficiency in the energy markets.

According to the Times, Aquind has given the Conservative Party more than £240,000 in donations since 2018 even though a significant chunk of its human and financial infrastructure is shrouded in mystery.

Indeed, the project’s “controlling party” cannot be named under an “exemption” to regulations concerning transparency.

The Times claims this exemption was sought and secured on the grounds that disclosure of the controlling party’s name could potentially place his or her life at risk.

Meanwhile the Daily Mail reported on July 23 that a strong of senior Tories with ministerial positions have been in receipt of donations from Aquind.

These include the business secretary Alok Sharma, who is alleged to have received £10,000 this year and the Welsh secretary Simon Hart, who was allegedly paid £23,000 in 2019.

It was long suspected that one of the key reasons as to why the government delayed the publication of the Russia report was for fear it would make it easier to identify Russian donors to the ruling Tory party.