Support The Moscow Times!

Media Mogul Lebedev Seeks ‘Lord of Moscow’ Title in UK – Reports

Yevgeny Lebedev is the owner of Britain’s Independent and Evening Standard newspapers and a friend of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. PA Wire / PA Images / TASS

Russian-British media mogul Yevgeny Lebedev is seeking to be the first member of the House of Lords with “Moscow” as his territorial designation, The Daily Mail newspaper reported Sunday. 

Queen Elizabeth II conferred a lifetime peerage to Lebedev, 40, the extravagant friend of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and owner of Britain’s Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, in July.

Lebedev’s introduction into the House of Lords, the upper house of British parliament, has met a delay over his request to have “Moscow” in his title, according to the Mail. 

A heraldic authority that keeps a public record of British peers must reportedly make a formal request to the Russian government before he can be awarded the “Lord Lebedev of Moscow” title.

So before Lebedev can take his place at the Lords, the Kremlin has to sign off the title,” The Daily Mail reported.

It is “highly unusual” for peers to request a foreign location as their required territorial designation, the newspaper said.

The Kremlin has not yet commented on Lebedev's reported request, including during Monday’s daily press briefing. 

Lebedev is the son of ex-KGB agent turned business tycoon Alexander Lebedev.

The senior Lebedev was reportedly one of the figures investigated as part of the British Parliament’s intelligence committee report on alleged Kremlin interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum. The report concluded that British government and intelligence agencies failed to investigate reports of Russian interference.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more