Given that most think tanks and universities are heavily against Brexit, the recent arrival of the Legatum Institute into the arena of trade policy mattered. It was filling a a gap in the market: proper research into potential trade relationships, on the basis that Brexit might not be a disaster. It has also acquired the services of Shanker Singham, an experienced trade lawyer. Both he and Legatum have come under the microscope today with a Mail on Sunday splash suggesting that the Kremlin might be behind it all. Its headline: ‘Putin link to Boris and Gove Brexit “coup”’.
Did this relationship go too far, and did Singham end up advising Michael Gove and Boris Johnson on a private (now leaked) memo to the PM? This is one MoS allegation which has not been denied. But it’s the suggestion of Putin’s influence that makes the story incendiary, especially as it nods to the idea that the Kremlin was somehow behind Brexit.
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