James questions how Rishi Sunak can condemn Putin whilst his wife's family business still operates in Moscow
15 November 2022, 12:52
How can Rishi Sunak condemn Putin whilst the PM's wife's family business still operates in Moscow?
James O'Brien challenges the credibility of Rishi Sunak's condemnation of Putin after pointing out that the PM's wife's family business still operates in Moscow.
James O'Brien put the Prime Minister on blast this morning: "You can't tell Russia to wind its neck while your fridge quite possibly contains food that's been bought with money that has come out of a Moscow office since the invasion was undertaken."
James said: "I do think that there's something really grim about what's happening at the G20 this morning. I don't see how anybody, let alone the UK Prime Minister, can speak strong words to the Russian foreign minister while his wife is taking dividends of over £10 million from a company that hasn't closed its Moscow office."
The company, Infosys, was founded by the Prime Minister's father-in-law. The PM's wife, Akshata Murty, has a stake of just under 1% and draws down dividends in the region of £11.5 million a year.
This comes after a furious Rishi Sunak confronted Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the G20 summit. It was "notable" that Vladimir Putin had decided not to attend the summit in person, Mr Sunak said, before adding: "Countries should not invade their neighbours, they should not attack [civilians] and they should not threaten nuclear escalation."
In April of this year, Infosys said in a statement: "We do not have any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises." However, it is believed that the company is still operating out of Russia's capital.
James questioned the PM's credibility regarding his condemnation of Putin at G20: "Yet his wife takes £11.5million a year out of a company that's still operating in Moscow, 8 months after the company said it was pulling out."
"Even McDonald's has shut down in Moscow but the UK Prime Minister's wife's family business has not," James fumed.
READ MORE: Joe Biden says US and China have 'responsibility to manage our differences' as he meets Xi Jinping
