Thread by @nicktolhurst

+BREAKING+

A "Hard Brexiter" Conservative MP has been under investigation by UK Intelligence agencies so worried are they not only by his “chaotic private life” & blackmail vulnerable private life. But also about his links to Pro Russian state officials & business interests.

2/

John Whittingdale has been a long time member of All-Party Parliamentary groups for Ukraine, Belarus & other former Soviet States has attracted attention for a "persistent pattern of behaviour".

3/

He is close to Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian gas oligarch & ally of Vladimir Putin. As a middleman for the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, Firtash funneled money into the campaigns of pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine & business ally of now imprisoned Paul Manafort.

4/

For two years Whittingdale dated Natalia Lokhanova, over 20 years younger of Belarus, whose father Nikolay was a USSR military officer. Natalia came to London in 2006 via Moscow from Belarus basing herself close to the Russian embassy.

5/

Whittingdale is a regular visitor to many post Soviet states and is often seen in the company of much younger Russian/Ukrainian/Belarussian women including escorts.

6/

Whittingdale has recived generous financial support from Dmitry Firtash - even though experts & Ukrainian politicians believe Firtash was behind the sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko in 2011 to hinder Ukraine's European Union integration - for personal financial gain.

7/

Whittingdale's generous hosts for these trips to Eastern Europe have included "entertainment".
Also worth remembering that UK based associates of Firtash have donated thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party.

8/

Whittingdale has spent last few years helping to steer a more relaxed view on Ukraine. Also resisting combined Ukraine civile society/EU attempts to challenge censorship in Firtash TV/media outlets in Ukraine.
All while backing hardest version of Brexit.

9/

Whittingdale's taste for young E European women is notorious but with Dominic Cummings holding reins of power he is now back in favour - Cummings' brother-in-law - Jack Wakefield is a longtime associate of Firtash & even worked as a Director of Firtash Foundation for 5 years.

10/

Why is this Dominic Cummings link so important?

Well here's the kicker....

11/

The Spectator (inhouse Brexit & Tory magazine) has been lobbying for Firtash & other Russian oligarchs for sometime.
The Spectator's commissioning editor you will recall is none other than Ms Mary Wakefield - wife of Dominic Cummings.

spectator.co.uk/2014/04/dont-c…

12/

Which brings me back to the start.
Now keen googlers will know that 95% of info on this thread is publicly available.

Investigations into Whittingdale were started.
But, for some reason, stalled this....summer.

I'll leave it there.

/ends

Addendum:

Ive tried to set up this thread so that as much as possible can actually be confimred via mainstream media reporting.

Feel free to post confirmation links if you like - but try to avoid "more dubious" sites. Theres enough regular media to show this story stands up.

I’m grateful for those - I’m assuming Scottish tweeters - who pointed out that once again quite a few in Scottish media has been working on this story previously (as well as the “usual suspects”).

In case you missed it earlier.

dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/tory-…