Richard Tice accepted stay at French Riviera home of Tory donor | Reform UK

Reformation Britain’s deputy leader Richard Tice has accepted a £1,400 stay at the French Riviera home of Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of Conservative donor and Russia’s former deputy finance minister, according to new filings.

Tice enjoyed accommodation worth £1,000 and meals worth £400 at the Chernukhins’ Mediterranean coast property between 4 and 6 August, listing the purpose as “discussing gas energy in the UK”, according to MPs’ register of interest.

The Boston and Skegness MP, who led Reform before Nigel Farage, is also the party’s energy spokesman and a critic of the drive towards net zero.

Chernukhin is a businesswoman who has donated more than £2 million to the Conservatives since 2014; This included bidding for a tennis session with Boris Johnson at a party auction.

She is a British citizen and former banker who was under scrutiny for her links to offshore wealth and her husband’s former membership in Vladimir Putin’s government until his ouster in 2004. Chernukhin had previously emphasized that she and her husband had no connection with Putin’s regime and condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine.

According to Companies House, the couple formed a new company, Satellite Energy Systems, in January this year; Chernukhin, who resides in England, is listed as the manager, and her husband, Vladimir Chernukhin, who resides in Italy, is also stated to be the owner. The company explains its purpose on LinkedIn: “We deliver net-zero energy where it is needed. We are in our customers’ orbit.”

Labor said Tice’s decision to accept Chernukhin’s hospitality was “disturbing” and questioned why the Reform deputy leader was listening to “vested foreign interests” on UK gas energy.

Asked why he accepted the hospitality, Tice told the Guardian: “We are short of electricity in this country and face the risk of rationing and blackouts. What we need is more gas power plants and Lubov is interested in developing something like that and wanted to talk to me about it.”

If people want to invest in the UK energy system with reliable and affordable generation and create jobs in the process, “then I will push and encourage that as much as I can,” he said.

He added: “Obviously my diary is so busy here that the ability to do that, the ability to talk about it for a couple of hours… In the UK I don’t have meetings with anyone for more than an hour and a half. So my ability during breaks is just to take a bit of a break.”

When asked about Labour’s criticism, Tice said Vladmir Chernukhin had to leave Russia 20 years ago and “frankly we probably should have listened to him and learned from him a while ago”. He also underlined that the Chernukhins were British citizens.

“If Labor criticizes this, I can remind them of that when we face higher energy bills and rationing because we don’t have enough electricity in this country,” he said.

Tice said he did not expect Lubov Chernukhin to start donating to Reform because he is a Conservative, adding: “This is about getting people to invest money in the UK rather than investing elsewhere.”

A spokesman for Lubov Chernukhin said: “Luba is a British businesswoman, philanthropist and investor focused on promoting inward investment, local economic growth and charitable initiatives both in the UK and abroad. As a result, she has multiple business interests and meets with a range of stakeholders. Luba remains a committed Conservative supporter and does not influence policy.”