Conservative Friends of Russia

Conservative Friends of Russia
Interest of	Matthew Elliott, Carrie Symonds

Conservative Friends of Russia (CFR), aka Westminster Russia Forum (WRF), was founded in 2012 by Richard Royal, a "communication specialist" for Ladbrokes. CFR's organisers and members often appeared on Russia Today, the Russian state-owned news channel.

One of CFR's initial organisers in 2011 was Sergei Nalobin, a diplomat suspected of being a Russian agent. He was the First Secretary in the Russian Embassy’s political section and son of Nikolai Nalobin, a former KGB General, who left the UK in 2015. He wanted to build closer ties with the Conservative Party and was interested in the rivalry between Boris Johnson and David Cameron.

Conservative Friends of Russia launched at the Russian Embassy in August 2012. Then minister John Whittingdale was CFR's honorary vice-president and attended the opening with his office aide Carrie Symonds, now Carrie Johnson, wife of Prime Minister Johnson.

Another founding member of CFR was Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the official Vote Leave campaign. John Whittingale was also one of six Cabinet ministers to favour Brexit during the 2016 EU Referendum. There seems to be a specific correlation between many of Brexit’s most prominent supporters, who are anti-EU yet enamoured with Russia.

Westminster Russia Forum

The original founder, Richard Royal, persuaded Conservative MP Malcolm Rifkind to join the Conservative Friends of Russia. However, Royal publicly attacked Labour’s Chris Bryant MP, a prominent Kremlin critic, by sharing a photo of Bryant in his underpants taken from a gay dating site. After this,Rifkind resigned, and soon the group fell apart, with many Conservatives distancing themselves from it. This was when CFR reformed under the name of Westminster Russia Forum.

WRF states it is non-political and focuses on trade, culture, and sport, but its role has undoubtedly helped give credibility and influence to pro-Russia lobbyists, bringing Russian funding into UK businesses and politics.

WRF's organisers are mainly London-based, with business interests in Russia. The current chair, Nicholas Cobb, runs an energy communications firm focused on Russia and former Soviet republics. He has also appeared on Russia Today and is pro-Moscow.

The Westminster Russia Forum’s events grew from having around 50 attendees in 2015 to having 170 in 2020 when it drew 47 speakers on UK-Russia relations. The group was overwhelmingly effusive on the need for strong ties with the Putin regime. WRF has hosted events with Tory MPs such as Daniel Kawczynski, Caroline Nokes, John Redwood and John Whittingdale, as well as Labour’s former foreign secretary Jack Straw. Event attendees have included Carrie Johnson, the Conservative Party’s former head of communications.

The group struggled to attract big Conservative names after underpantsgate in 2012. Still, it hosted around 80 events and intended to hold its first in-person event for two years on 4 March 2022. As the group was unregulated, the public never had access to its activities and fundraising information records. Some political figures like Lord Andrew Adonis are now calling for WRF records to be handed to police and sanction advisers.

WRF disbands

On 3 March 2022, The Spectator wrote:

The Ukraine crisis has claimed another victim. The Westminster Russia Forum – previously called the Conservative Friends of Russia – has just announced it will be winding up its lobbying operation here in London. As recently as last week, the group were reported to be going ahead with a 'multilateral relations conference', scheduled for tomorrow. But now, following a wave of cancellations, boycotts and sanctions across London and the rest of the western world, the WRF has announced it will close. In a statement to his supporters on Tuesday, chairman Nicholas Cobb announced his resignation and that of the entire board. He said that his group had aimed 'to promote the equitable, neutral and positive ties between the peoples of the United Kingdom, Russian Federation and wider European area' but that 'whilst we have had notable successes, the ultimate goal that we have pursued has failed and as such we are, with immediate effect disbanding the Westminster Russia Forum.'

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