• A parliamentary committee is to question the chair of the House of Lords Appointment Commission.
  • The watchdog, which vets nominees, has had its advice overruled by Boris Johnson.
  • Johnson appointed Evgeny Lebedev and Peter Cruddas as peers despite the committee's advice.

The chair of the House of Lords appointments watchdog is due to be questioned by MPs following reports that Boris Johnson overruled its initial refusal on security grounds to hand a peerage to Evgeny Lebedev, the Russian-born oligarch and son of a former KGB agent.

Conservative MP William Wragg, who chairs Parliament's Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs committee, told Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, that the committee will hold an evidence session on the watchdog soon after Parliament returns from its Easter recess.

Lord Bew, the chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, will be questioned by MPs on April 20.

Rayner described the session as "very welcome news", saying there were "many unanswered questions about how the business partner & son of an 'ex-KGB' agent was granted a seat in our Parliament."

The evidence session may also cover the appointment of Peter Cruddas, who had given the Conservative Party £3 million in donations, sources told Insider.

The evidence session follows reports, first seen in The Sunday Times, that Johnson intervened to overrule security advice against handing Lebedev a seat in the House of Lords.

In December 2020, Cruddas was handed a peerage by Johnson despite the House of Lords Appointments Commission raising concerns over his probity. Days after joining the Lords, he gave the Conservative Party £500,000.

This is a developing story.

Read the original article on Business Insider