Badenoch under fire as Tory shadow attorney general acts for Roman Abramovich | Conservatives
Kemi Badenoch is under pressure to act on rumors that her shadow attorney-general represents Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, despite UK sanctions against her.
The Conservative Party’s David Wolfson is part of the legal team representing Abramovich, who is trying to recover billions of frozen assets he owns in the Channel Islands.
Abramovich has been embroiled in a legal battle after the Jersey government launched an investigation into the source of more than £5.3bn of assets linked to and held there.
Ministers said the Jersey case was delaying the release of £2.5bn from the sale of Chelsea football club, which Abramovich wants to use to help the UK government rebuild Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.
Earlier this month, Keir Starmer issued a final warning to Abramovich that funds from the sale of Chelsea FC must be released within 90 days or he will take action to court. The Prime Minister told MPs that the money would be turned into a foundation for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.
Labor this week turned its fire on Wolfson, arguing that his work for Abramovich while he was a shadow minister created an unacceptable conflict of interest.
Labor leader Anna Turley demanded Badenoch reveal whether he was aware Wolfson would represent Abramovich in the Jersey case and make clear that “anyone representing a man currently under British sanctions cannot serve at his shadow cabinet table”.
Turley accused the Conservative Party leader of “allowing his senior team to run second jobs that are clearly at odds with British and Ukrainian interests” and said it was “a completely irresponsible position for Her Majesty’s official opposition to be in”.
Justice minister Jake Richards said on Monday that Wolfson should either leave the shadow cabinet or leave Abramovich’s legal team.
In a letter to Badenoch, he asked whether Wolfson had recused himself from party policy regarding Abramovich’s assets, saying his ability to advise him on the matter had been “clearly compromised”.
Ukraine Solidarity CampaignAn activist group criticized Wolfson’s role in representing Abramovich, saying it “raises deep questions about the Conservative party and its longstanding relationship with Russian wealth.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Lord Wolfson has been instructed in relation to ongoing legal proceedings in Jersey. No instructions have been given in relation to the Chelsea FC matter.”
“The Conservative party has led the way in supporting Ukraine and we remain committed to their cause. To suggest anything other than that would only sink Labor to new depths.”
The Conservative Party accused Labor ministers of “hypocrisy” and said attorney general Richard Hermer had previously “acted on behalf of Gerry Adams and was involved in the Shamima Begum case”.
In the past, Conservatives have criticized Hermer for the clients he represented during his 20-year career as a human rights lawyer and called for a Whitehall inquiry into potential conflicts of interest. The requests were rejected by cabinet secretary Chris Wormald.
In response, ministers drew attention to the “cab rank rule”, which states that lawyers should not discriminate between their clients and accept cases for which they are competent, regardless of their personal views.
In his letter to Badenoch, Richards wrote that while the taxi rank rule “must always be respected… it cannot eliminate conflicts of interest or relieve politicians of their responsibility to avoid such conflicts.”
