Arron Banks, a businessman who bankrolled one of the main campaigns for Brexit, hit back yesterday after a report said his links with Russia went further and deeper than he had previously disclosed, saying he was a victim of a “witch hunt”.
Britain has said it had not seen evidence of Russian interference in its votes, but lawmakers are investigating whether the country tried to influence public opinion before the EU referendum as part of a broader inquiry into “fake news”.
Banks said he would tell a committee of lawmakers tomorrow about his connections with multiple countries during the referendum campaign.
“It wasn’t just the Russians: we met all sorts of nationalities, we also briefed the state department in Washington, we also met with the top embassy officials in London,” he said.
“So if we are Russian spies, we must be American spies too.”
The Sunday Times, citing e-mails it received from a journalist who worked with Banks on a book, said that Banks and his associate Andy Wigmore had repeated contact with Russian officials both before and after the referendum campaign.
Banks had previously claimed in a book to have had only one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy in London, Alexander Yakovenko, in September 2015, but the newspaper said there were at least two further meetings.
The newspaper also said Yakovenko proposed that Banks and Wigmore become involved in a business deal involving Russian gold mines.
Banks said he didn’t profit from any business deals because he never pursued any. “I have never seen such a conflated story in all my life,” Banks said.
“Yeah, we had two lunches with the Russian ambassador and passed on a business contact. So what?”
When asked if he ever received Russian money or assistance for Brexit, Banks laughed: “No, of course not. You know if I have, I’m still waiting for the cheque.
“This is just complete absolute garbage.”
Banks said late on Saturday that he and Wigmore would appear before parliament’s digital, culture, media and sport committee’s fake news inquiry, reversing a decision to pull out two days ago.
“We look forward to seeing @DamianCollins & the committee as originally planned,” he said on Twitter.
Collins, a member of the ruling Conservatives who chairs the committee, said the public had a right to know about the relationship between the biggest funder of the Leave campaign and Russia.
“It is big news: I think it is very relevant,” he told BBC television. “If the Russian government is seeking to develop relationships with prominent people like Arron Banks (...) we have a right to know what the level of that contact was.”
Arron Banks: rubbishes allegations
