Tory peer attended Cop26 summit for Russia, UN list shows
A Conservative peer attended Cop26 in Glasgow as part of Russia’s group of participants at the UN climate summit, the Guardian can reveal.
Greg Barker, a former energy minister when David Cameron was prime minister, attended the talks as part of the party of the Russian Federation, according to a list published by the UN.
Lord Barker resigned on Monday as chair of the Russian mining company En+ Group. The company is part-owned by the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who was sanctioned by the US in 2018. En+ confirmed that Barker attended with a pass from Russia’s allocation.
His resignation followed intense scrutiny of his relationship with the company, including by senior Tory party colleagues, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Share instruments in En+, which is incorporated in Russia, were suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The presence of Barker on the list emerged in analysis of lobbying at the summit by three non-government organisations – Global Witness, Corporate Accountability and Corporate Europe Observatory.
Barker was ennobled in 2015 by Cameron, after serving for four years as minister of state for climate change. Barker had served as Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle. However, he is not thought to have attended the House of Lords since 2019.
A source familiar with the matter said Barker did not participate in, or attend, any official Russian government functions, meetings or receive any briefings at the climate summit.
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, said: “The Conservatives have serious questions to answer about why it seems one of their peers was allowed to attend Cop26 as part of Russia’s party.”
Dodds added that “urgent action” was required from the Conservatives
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