Independent owner says he supports Labour’s mansion tax plans, but he would not interfere in the political decisions of his four UK newspapers
Independent proprietor Alexander Lebedev has said it was up to his editors to decide which political parties to back in May’s general election, but added that he supported Labour’s plan for a mansion tax so long as the money raised was “properly spent”.
In an interview with the Guardian on Tuesday, the Russian businessman said that he wouldn’t interfere in the editorial or political decisions of his four UK newspapers, the London Evening Standard, Independent, Independent on Sunday and the i.
The Standard has consistently favoured the Conservative party, with Lebedev’s son Evgeny – who owns the titles with him and runs them on his behalf from London – interviewing David Cameron last week.
The Standard has vociferously opposed the mansion tax, which Labour says will apply to properties worth more than £2m, most of them in London, with the estimated £1.2bn raised to be spent on the NHS.
Asked if he thought the plan was a good idea, Lebedev said: “If the government is in a position to spend the money properly, then yes.” He added: “It would affect a very limited number of people in this country … non-domiciled foreigners buying from offshore with dirty money; they’ve invested a lot in property in this country and not given anything [back] but are depriving ordinary Londoners.”
Lebedev insisted he still had enough money to sustain his British media empire, despite his financial problems in Russia, and losses of “three of four million” from his struggling local TV station London Live.
He predicted that the newspapers would break even later this year – something the Independent titles have never achieved – but admitted that mistakes had been made in launching the station for the capital. “They thought [the] audience would grow rather faster, miscalculated the budget,” Lebedev said of London Live, which launched in March 2014.
Asked what the channel’s future was, he said he would “wait and see” whether things had improved by May, when the channel would be just over a year old.
He admitted he was no longer a billionaire. “I’ve fallen off the Forbes list,” he said, adding he was “glad as people look at me like an ordinary person”. His assets have shrunk after attacks on his Moscow National Reserve Bank. Lebedev said he had shut its operations, returning $1bn (£645m) to customers.
Lebedev – who co-owns the liberal Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta – has been a vigorous critic of Russia’s leadership and bureaucracy, though he has been careful not to criticise President Vladimir Putin directly.
‘Don’t call Putin a thug’
In recent months, he has publicly supported Russia’s president. “Don’t call Putin a thug. Don’t compare him to Hitler or Saddam Hussein. It doesn’t help at all,” Lebedev said.
He acknowledged that Russia was “involved’ in eastern Ukraine, where separatists backed by Russian weapons are trying to carve out a pro-Moscow mini-state. But he added: “About 95% of those who have taken up arms are locals.”
Lebedev said there was “no simple solution” to the war in Ukraine, but said that it might be possible to resolve the question of Crimea – annexed by Russia last year – when Ukraine eventually joins the EU.
The two sides were so far apart on Ukraine, they couldn’t agree what was actually happening there, Lebedev suggested. “If you are outside Russia, you see one point of view. If you are inside, the opposite. There is a huge cultural barrier between Russia and Europe. It’s such a pity.”
Lebedev said he hoped Putin would go back to the modernising policies of 2000-2004 – his first presidential term – and not cling to power forever and end up “like Mugabe”.
When questioned about the latest allegations involving the Telegraph Media Group allowing commercial interests to dictate editorial policy, Lebedev said: “I don’t think this country needs anything additional, there are quite enough independent journalists. If you compare this to what we have back in Russia ...
“I’ve never interfered [in editorial] or been approached by those wanting to do so. Probably because my face shows what I would do.”
The Independent’s decision not to join Ipso, the new press regulator, was up to its editor Amol Rajan, he said.
Lebedev is a former high-flying KGB spy. In the 1980s, he worked at the Soviet embassy in Kensington in London. He denied that Russia had gone back to the Cold War, and said western sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine had been ridiculous and ineffective. One of those sanctioned by the EU last week was Joseph Kobzon, a popular Soviet-era singer. Others have been minor separatist officials.
“Kobzon is not the kind of person [who should be on the list],” Lebedev said. Instead of imposing “sectoral sanctions” which punished ordinary Russians, the west should consider targeting oligarchs, many of them with assets in London, and westernised Kremlin officials. Lebedev said that some top figures in Russian politics made millions, fled to the UK, and then passed themselves off as “dissidents who were always against Putin”.
In 2003, Lebedev stood unsuccessfully in Moscow’s mayoral elections. He has now given up attempts to enter Russian politics, scrapping plans to form a moderate opposition party with Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president. The two remain friends.
Gorbachev was physically frail but mentally sharp, Lebedev said, adding: “My wife and I recently visited him with our kids. We drank vodka together.”
