NOTE: This story has been updated - since it was originally published, the invitation has been withdrawn
An invitation for the Russian Ambassador to meet with MPs in Parliament this week has been withdrawn.
It came just weeks after he met with a cross-party group of MPs and peers, and assured them the idea of his country’s troops invading Ukraine was “preposterous”.
Vladimir Putin ’s envoy, Andrei Kelin, had accepted an invitation from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Russia to attend a meeting in Parliament.
Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the committee, announced on Twitter that he had invited the Ambassador to meet the group for the second time in as many months.
He wrote: “Last time we met he guaranteed that Russia would not invade Ukraine including the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. He said the very idea was preposterous.”
But after the Sunday Mirror revealed the meeting was to take place, Mr Bryant announced the invitation had been withdrawn.
He wrote: "Many MPs have friends who are Ukrainian MPs. We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine. The last time the Russian ambassador came to Parliament he told us it was preposterous to suggest that Russia would invade Ukraine.
There is no point in listening to any more lies from him."
Mr Bryant added: "The all party Parliamentary group on Russia was going to host him this week but after the events of the last few days and the criminal invasion of Ukraine I as chair have decided he is not welcome.
"I hope he and all those who support the invasion face criminal charges."
Mr Kelin was "kicked out" of the Foreign Office by Liz Truss on Thursday, following a "heated" meeting with the Foreign Secretary.
Ms Truss had summoned Mr Kelin to speak to her after Vladimir Putin's repeated threats to invade Ukraine.
But a Foreign Office source said it became "a heated meeting" and the envoy was pictured leaving Whitehall after barely ten minutes.
Meanwhile, a Tory-linked Russian “lobbying” group scrapped plans for an in-person conference in London on the same day.
The Westminster Russia Forum (WRF) - a rebranded version of the Conservative Friends of Russia - was advertising the event on its website as recently as Thursday.
But they have since updated their website, pushing the date ahead by seven months to October.
The site reads: "Please note that further information and dates will be announced in due course as events in Ukraine become clearer."
It comes amid concerns the group allows pro-Moscow lobbyists to gain influence and respectability in Westminster.
According to openDemocracy, the group 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.
The organisation started life as the Conservative Friends of Russia - which Chairman Nic Cobb claims has been “dissolved” for years.
But Companies House records show it merely changed its name in December 2012.
The group was launched in 2012 at an event in gardens of London’s Russian Embassy. Mr Whittingdale attended, accompanied by an aide, Carrie Symonds - now Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister’s wife.
In response to openDemocracy's investigation, the group published an article condemning the invasion of Ukraine.
But just weeks ago, they published comments from Russia's UK ambassador blaming "NATO aggression" for Russia massing troops near Ukraine's borders.
Nic Cobb, the group's chairman, said: "We make no apology for wanting a better dialogue and condemn in full the invasion of Ukraine – a copy of which can be found on our website.
“Further more when the time is right we will work with all interested parties to positively improve relations between our peoples."
