12 March 2018

Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Tories Have Problem With Donations from Ex-Russians

In America, the question is whether the Trump campaign, transition team and administration colluded (conspired) with agents of the Russian government. In Britain, the question is trickier. It is public knowledge that the Tories have taken £820,000 from former Russian nationals who are now British subjects. All British subjects are entitled to participate in the democratic process there. Some have called for the money to be returned. The difference between the American and British situations is that the British matter is out in the open.

The money is potentially a problem because the relations between the UK and Russia are chilly at best. The Russians last week likely poisoned Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer who defected to Britain. The UK response has been flaccid. The Conservative minority government doesn't want to make waves with Russia, but at the same time, it does have a duty to defend all who are on British soil.

The Telegraph this morning stated, "Marina Litvinenko, the widow of murdered former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, is among those who have called for the Tories to return money from Russians who have become British citizens, saying: 'You need to be sure what kind of money these people bring to your country'."

The paper continued, "But Philip Hammond said that anyone who becomes a British citizen and lives under UK law should have 'full participation rights in our society', including the right to make political donations."

It is unusual for both parties in a dispute to be right, but in this instance, they are. Russian intelligence has recruited agents around the world, and Britain has had its share of traitors who worked for the Russians, starting with Philby, Burgess and Maclean. Here, the concern is that people who work for Moscow have sworn allegiance to the Crown, but they continue to do Mr. Putin's bidding by using money to influence the Conservative Party.

At the same time, the idea that a naturalized citizen is not entitled to equal participation as someone who acquired citizenship by birth is appalling. Indeed, the Cambridge Five were born British. One could make a case that the naturalized citizen is less of the threat to the kingdom.

Thanks to British law, the world knows who gave how much to which political party, and that is why one can be precise about the £820,000. It is that transparency that will eventually resolve the matter. It puts the government in the hot seat. If Ms. May retaliates for an attempted murder (actually a chemical weapons attack) in Britain, one will be able to say that the funds are no longer an issue. If she produces evidence that exonerates Russia, even better. But if she sits on her hands despite the fingerprints of the Chekists on this crime, the government will have failed in its primary duty, which is to protect the people in Britain. And it will have done so for the price of a house in Wimbledon.

All eyes are on Ms. May.