Thread by @carolecadwalla

BREAKING: Boris Johnson flew to Italy without his security detail & met ex-kGB agent 2 days after NATO summit to discuss Russia sanctions. New from me & @TownsendMark

theguardian.com/media/2019/nov…

Guardian reported previously how Johnson attended party at Evgeny Lebedev’s Italian palazzo. This was him alone & looking like ‘he was about to be sick on tarmac’. Today we report that earlier that day Evgeny’s father, Alexander, an ex-KGB agent, flew in from Moscow to meet him

Here’s what @Billbrowder says about ex-KGB agents: ‘There’s no such thing as an ex-KGB agent.’ Alexander Lebedev retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the London station. He lives in Moscow & runs businesses across Russia. To do so, he must be loyal to Putin, says Browder

This is where Boris Johnson was that Friday. At NATO summit on Russia’s ‘reckless & destabilising’ activity, as foreign secretary in midst of Skripal crisis. Incredibly, he then slipped his security detail & flew to Russian’s house to meet ex-KGB agent. This man is now our PM

The recklessness of this is off the charts. Russia had just deployed a banned chemical weapon on Britain’s streets. A woman would later die. Britain responded by expelling 23 Russian spies. Boris Johnson was foreign secretary. Dealing with this was *literally* his job.

Alexander Lebedev had been in Russia-occupied Crimea earlier that week according to his Instagram. He has repeatedly defended Russia’s illegal annexation of the territory & runs businesses there. When @lukeharding1968 asked him if was with Johnson that weekend, he denied it.