UK’s Boris Johnson defends meeting ex-KGB agent at party

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended meeting a Russian oligarch with a KGB past. The British leader says that “as far as I am aware” no government business was discussed at the 2018 get-together. Johnson is facing questions about his relationship with Russia-born newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev and his father, Alexander. The older man is a businessman and Cold War-era KGB officer. Johnson went to a party at Evgeny Lebedev’s Italian mansion that was also attended by Alexander Lebedev. Johnson, was British foreign secretary at the time but was not accompanied by any officials. Johnson said it was a “private, social occasion” and that “as far as I am aware, no government business was discussed.”