Bill Browder: Lords who worked with Oleg Deripaska and the Russian government should be thrown out of Parliament

• Lord Barker and Lord (Peter) Goldsmith should have peerages revoked, Bill Browder told Insider.
• The two men are on leaves of absence from parliament carrying out work linked to Russia.

Two members of the House of Lords should have their peerages removed for having worked for individuals or entities linked to Vladimir Putin's government, Bill Browder told Insider.

Browder is a campaigner who champions the Magnitsky Act, an anti-corruption measure named after an associate of Browder's who died in a Russian after making fraud accusations against powerful officials there.

Since the act passed in the US, UK, EU, and Canada, Browder has campaigned against Russian influence in politics more broadly, including in the UK Parliament.

His intervention came after Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted a flood of new sanctions and reinvigorated moves to purge Western politics of Russian influence.

Browder told Insider said Lord Barker and Lord (Peter) Goldsmith should be thrown out of Parliament.

Neither man has broken any rules by working with Russians on official sanctions lists, which Browder told Insider shows that the system needs to change.

Barker – a Conservative life peer and former climate change minister – has been on a leave of absence since 2019 while he works as executive director for EN+ Group, in which the billionaire Oleg Deripaska owns a major stake.

Deripaska has been personally sanctioned by the US. Barker was awarded a multi-million-dollar bonus for successfully lobbying to have sanctions lifted from EN+, Bloomberg reported in 2019.

Goldsmith — a Labour peer who served as attorney general under Tony Blair – took leave of absence earlier this year after speaking out against new rules requiring peers to disclose foreign sources of income.

Goldsmith lists several instances in which he has represented the Russian Federation on the website of his law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.

Goldsmith has also previously represented Andrey Pavlov, a Russian lawyer who is on an EU sanctions list.

Goldsmith urged the EU Parliament not to impose sanctions on Pavlov, according to The Sunday Times, though the effort was unsuccessful.

Browder, who employed Magnitsky and became a prominent campaigner after his death, told Insider: "There really should be some type of investigation into their conduct at the House of Lords to see whether it is in conflict with the reputation of the institution.

"In my opinion, a person who has conducted himself in the way [Barker] has shouldn't have a seat in the Lords, full stop."

Removing a peerage – which is technically granted by the Queen – requires legislation from the UK government, and is highly unusual. The last time this happened was in 1917, when the Titles Deprivation Act removed peerages from those considered enemies of Britain in World War I.

Barker and Goldsmith being on leave means that they cannot vote or participate, although they can watch proceedings from "the steps of the throne" in the chamber. They are also able to continue using perks such as the peers' guest room and dining room, as well the title, a House of Lords official told Insider.

Browder said revoking peerages from both men would show it was not a "partisan issue." He said a willingness to confront problems within its own legislature was a "litmus test" for the UK's seriousness in opposing corruption.

"You have a situation where the US determined Deripaska was somehow connected to Putin and put him on their sanctions list, and this man tried to get him taken him off. That rises to the level of unprecedented," said Browder. "They should legislate – now is the moment."

Outside work "distorts and deludes the lawmaking capacity of this country", he said.

"You can't have it both ways – you can't represent this country in the highest lawmaking institution and be at the Russian trough, eating up dirty money."

"The fact people aren't exercised tells you everything. It tells you this is why we have this dirty money problem in the first place, because if people aren't exercised about a lawmaker lobbying to get someone taken off the US sanctions list, something is seriously rotten with the system... I know a lot of people are upset about it but nobody wants to take the lead on it.

"People don't like to turn on their own — it's a closed club."

Earlier this week Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, appeared to agree, telling The Mail on Sunday that Barker should quit the House of Lords for good.

A spokesman for Number 10 told Insider such legislation was a matter for the Foreign Office; the Foreign Office said it was a matter for the Cabinet Office; the Cabinet Office did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for Barker defended his work.

He Insider: "EN+ is an international business, the world leader in low carbon aluminium, with operations in 12 countries including Ukraine where it is a major industrial employer. Lord Barker and senior management are focussed on supporting and keeping safe our thousands of colleagues there and protecting the welfare of them and their families."

A spokesperson for Goldsmith did not respond to a request for comment.

Browder's intervention came alongside increasing interest in the UK government to pass new transparency rules meant to shed light on the shadowy ownership of property and companies set up in the UK.

Browder called for "root and branch reform of the whole financial system" in the UK, saying this was the only thing that would "end London being the international money-laundering centre".

He criticised the UK government for failing to take action to make Companies House more transparent. He said it should have been part of the long-shelved Economic Crime Bill, which has been fast-tracked to begin parliamentary scrutiny this week.

"Companies House can no longer be a place where money-laundering companies are set up and there is no consequence," he said. "We need transparency about who owns what in terms of properties and companies, and the enablers should take responsibility for looking after."

Browder said that the UK was "a lot closer to a good outcome on sanctions than we were two weeks ago" but that he would "reserve praise" until further names were added to the list.

A House of Lords spokesperson told Insider that a "serious breach of the code of conduct" could result in the the Commissioner for Standards recommending expulsion for peers.

Neither Goldsmith or Barker are under investigation by the commissioner.