London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2025

Starmer calls on Tories to sack co-chair Ben Elliot over party links to Russia

Starmer calls on Tories to sack co-chair Ben Elliot over party links to Russia

Firm Elliot jointly owns offered ‘luxury lifestyle management services’ to Russian elite
Keir Starmer has called on the Conservatives to sack their co-chair, Ben Elliot, for being “at the heart” of links between the party and Russian money.

The Labour leader said Elliot should step back from his role or be removed after revelations about his firm’s Russian business and the Tories accepting donations from wealthy Russians or companies linked to Russia.

Elliot has been chair of the party while it has taken donations from Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of Vladimir Putin’s former finance minister, and Aquind, a company co-owned by the billionaire Viktor Fedotov.

Neither is subject to any sanctions and the Conservatives have previously said in relation to Chernukhin and Aquind that all donations were “properly and transparently” declared in line with electoral law. Chernukhin, who has British citizenship, has condemned the invasion of Ukraine and called Putin’s regime “despotic”.

Elliot is also co-owner of Quintessentially, a “concierge” service for the super-wealthy that has counted many Russians among its clients, including reportedly Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner who has also faced calls from Starmer for UK sanctions to be imposed on him.

Quintessentially this week deleted a webpage detailing its presence in Russia, with about 50 staff in the country.

An archived page version said: “Quintessentially Russia has nearly 15 years’ experience providing luxury lifestyle management services to Russia’s elite and corporate members. Our office employs over 50 lifestyle managers, each of whom has completed a specialised training programme. They work around the clock 365 days per year to provide personal concierge services to each member. From restaurant bookings to backstage concert access, a bespoke luxury lifestyle is at our clients’ fingertips.”

A spokesperson for Quintessentially said the group “completely condemns President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine” and was monitoring its member base to ensure it was not servicing any individual or corporate body on sanctions lists, confirming that there were none so far.

With concerns heightened after the invasion of Ukraine, Starmer said it was time for the Conservatives to act to remove Elliot. Speaking during a visit to Birmingham Erdington, where Labour won a byelection on Thursday, Starmer said: “I think there is growing concern about the links between the Conservative party and Russian money. Ben Elliot is at the heart of that. We need to strip Russian money away from our politics, not to allow it to influence our politics.

“There will always be this danger if the Conservative government doesn’t go really hard on this that people will say it must be because you are reliant on Russian money that you are not going more quickly.

“So, it’s in everybody’s best interests that Ben Elliot steps back from his role – and I think he should actually be sacked from it.”

A Conservative source said: “This Conservative government has been leading the world in arming and training Ukrainian troops and imposing severe sanctions on Russia while Keir Starmer attempts to score cheap political points.”

In a reference to a row over support for Stop the War, the source added: “He would be better off trying to rid his own party of the Putin apologists who blame Nato for the invasion of Ukraine, many of whom sit as Labour MPs.”

Abramovich has said he is a non-political person and was not linked to Putin or the Russian state.

Meanwhile the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith called for British politics to be “scrubbed clean” of Russian money, saying: “It’s all political parties: we’ve all got to clean house … I think it should all be revisited, all of what went on in the past.”

Duncan Smith suggested it was not just politicians who had been too lax about accepting Russian cash but also “lawyers, estate agents, accountants – enablers” who should now reconsider their roles.

David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, called on the government to use legislation due to be passed next week to force UK citizens to sever their links with Russian companies if the government believed they were connected to the Kremlin.

“We are in an economic war,” he said. “One of the things we should do in the economic crime bill is that we should require British citizens not to hold posts on the boards of companies which the government believes have a link with Putin. They should certainly not be in receipt of large sums of money from such companies.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
×