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Arron Banks is a former UKIP donor and good friend of Nigel Farage
The founding father of Leave.EU, Arron Banks, has confirmed he'll seem earlier than MPs this week to reply new allegations about his hyperlinks with Russia.
It has been reported that Mr Banks, who bankrolled the unofficial go away marketing campaign, had extra contact with Russian officers than he beforehand admitted.
The allegations come as MPs examine accusations Russia tried to affect the EU referendum.
Mr Banks has instructed he's the victim of "a political witch-hunt".
'Boozy lunches'
Since Britain voted to depart the EU in June 2016, questions have been raised about Leave.EU marketing campaign and its chief backer Mr Banks, in addition to the attainable affect of Russia on the referendum consequence.
The Sunday Times reviews Mr Banks had three conferences with the Russian ambassador to the UK. In his ebook, The Bad Boys of Brexit, Mr Banks had beforehand admitted to just one.
The millionaire Brexit backer informed the paper: "I had two boozy lunches with the Russian ambassador and one other cup of tea with him. Bite me.
"It's a convenient political witch-hunt, both over Brexit and Trump."
Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, has stated he'll query Mr Banks concerning the allegations, citing the newspaper's "evidence of very close contact" with Russia in the course of the referendum marketing campaign.
The Sunday Times stated Mr Banks and Leave.EU director of communications Andy Wigmore had additionally had lunch with the Russian ambassador in November 2016simply three days after they and the previous UKIP chief Nigel Farage had met Donald Trump in New York following his election victory.
Mr Banks and Mr Wigmore additionally mentioned potential enterprise alternatives in Russia, emails reportedly present, together with a proposal involving six goldmines.
'Shamelessly used'
The scale of the pair's hyperlinks to Russia is revealed in a sequence of 40,000 emails obtained by the previous Sunday Times journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who ghost-wrote Mr Banks' Bad Boys of Brexit ebook.
Ms Oakeshott handed them to the paper after her e-mail accounts have been "hacked".
She instructed Mr Banks and Mr Wigmore have been "shamelessly used by the Russians", however added nothing she had discovered "invalidates the judgement of the 17.4m people" who voted for Brexit.
"Had voters known about the links between Banks and Russia, I am certain they would still have made the same decision," Ms Oakeshott stated.
Mr Banks, who beforehand pulled out of a Commons inquiry into "fake news", stated he would now be giving proof, as deliberate, on Tuesday.
'Investigate allegations'
"We didn't profit from any business deals because I never pursued anything," he stated.
Meanwhile, Mr Wigmore denied handing over any Brexit-related info.
"We never offered any information to... any Russian any details of our campaign," he informed the Sunday Times.
In a tweet, Mr Wigmore went on to counsel the emails had been illegally obtained.
When requested concerning the claims throughout a press convention on the G7 summit in Quebec, Prime Minister Theresa May stated: "I am sure that if there are any allegations that need investigation the proper authorities will do that."
The Russian embassy has stated it has not intervened in UK home politics.