Re: The Mandy Rice-Davies Proactive Defence
Not the Russian government.
Now, I am not saying this is what happened, but if I was writing a fictional spy story this would be the scenario.
Eccentric British person goes out to Russia ostensibly to help start an airline, but actually works for SIS.
While there he makes contact with some oligarchs who are anti-Putin.
The airline never takes off, but after his return a number of rich Russians move to London. They all have fallen out with Putin.
These Russians are fast tracked British citizenship.
Soon after, they make big donations to the Conservative Party, including £130000 for a tennis game with A B de P Johnson.
The eccentric British person is installed in Downing Street as a special adviser who seems to have the power to fire civil servants - and even control Ministers.
During this period, large numbers of rich Russians send their children to the Public Schools favoured by the Conservatives for theirs.
Obviously Conservatives could never in reality put their own interests above that of the country or indeed favour one group in another, and this scenario is even less likely than Le Carré's The Russia House. But it might make a good story.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
