It is interesting to note that Ekaterina Paderina’s new married name is Banks and it would seem her husband Aaron Banks became the principle backer of Ukip with an income and resources that seem far from transparent6!
This correspondence between Ukip’s Press Office, the Farage gofer Gawain Towler and Gerard Batten thus becomes even more interesting:
From: Gawain Towler <gawain@gmail.com>
To: Gerard Batten <gerard.batten@btinternet.com>
Subject: Fwd: Evening Standard Letters – Katia Zatuliveter
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 14:27
Gerard,
Can you help here?
G
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: <joshua.neicho@standard.co.uk>
Date: 6 December 2010 14:22
Subject: Evening Standard Letters – Katia Zatuliveter
To: Gawain Towler gawain@gmail.com
Gawain hope all is well with you. I am following up our coverage about the
British Lib-Dem MP Mike Hancock’s assistant Katia Zatuliveter. Would any
UKIP MEPs with a particular knowledge of Russian diplomacy be interested in
commenting and would you possibly be able to help with something I am
working with the newsdesk on?
Josh Neicho
Evening Standard Letters
020 7938 7596
News, 6 December
The sister of suspected spy Katia Zatuliveter was under investigation today
as it emerged that she posted an internet advert promising to help other
Russians come to Britain.
Miss Zatuliveter’s older sister, Polina, works at the admissions office of
the University of Central Lancashire and used the web to offer free
assistance to any of her fellow citizens wanting to study here.
“Do you know anyone who would like to study in England? Summer schools,
colleges, university? I can help (for free),” her advert stated.
Polina is understood to be married to a British businessman, Andrew
Cowburn.
The disclosure about her ad came as MI5 continued to investigate her
sister, 25, parliamentary assistant to Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock.
Katia Zatuliveter is facing deportation over alleged links with Russian
intelligence.
MI5 aims to assess whether any alleged espionage by Miss Zatuliveter might
have been part of a wider operation involving other possible spies.
She was arrested on Thursday and is being held at an immigration detention
centre, appealing against her deportation order. She came to the UK three
years ago to study at Bradford University.
She held a Commons pass and underwent security vetting before taking up her
position as Mr Hancock’s full-time assistant two and a half years ago. She
worked previously for him as an intern.
The latest developments came as the Kremlin considered how to react over
Miss Zatuliveter’s detention, including possible tit-for-tat expulsions,
while Moscow newspapers hailed her as a “sex bomb” spy to rival Anna
Chapman, who was arrested in the US earlier this year.
The newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets trumpeted: “Chapman has a rival as the
most sexy spy”.
Another mass-selling paper claimed Britain was taking revenge on Russia
trouncing England in last week’s battle to host the 2018 World Cup.
“If the English had not received a slap in the face in the elections for
the 2018 World Cup, there would have been no spy scandal,” said the
staunchly pro-government Komsomolskaya Pravda.
“All this looks like a petty act of revenge on Russia. Gentlemen — this is
not sporting.”
The latest alleged spying case follows the arrest of Chapman, 28, and nine
other alleged spies in New York and their expulsion to Russia in a Cold
War-style spy-swap deal with Moscow.
Chapman had earlier married and divorced a former British public schoolboy
and had lived in London for six years.
“Highly intelligent” Katia Zatuliveter was educated at the same Russian
university as Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB
spy.
She comes from the deep south of her country, the resort city of Mineralnye
Vodiy, where local sources suggested the family was affluent and
well-connected.
Andrei, the father of Katia and Polina, is listed as Russian representative
of a Lancashire-based company called Choices (Northern UK) of which his
son-in-law Andrew Cowburn is a director.
Set up in March, the company aims to offer “information, advice, guidance
and application support to international students wishing to study in the
UK”.
News, 6 December
A review of parliamentary security checks was demanded today in the wake of
allegations surrounding MP’s assistant Katia Zatuliveter.
The call came as it emerged that Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock, who
employed Miss Zatuliveter, had access to a swathe of secrets useful to
Russian intelligence through his membership of the defence committee.
Sources said the Portsmouth South MP would also have been an “ideal target”
for Russian agents because of his constituency’s naval links and because he
had a relatively low profile.
His position on the committee would have allowed him to see confidential
documents and given access to important installations during committee
visits.
Chris Bryant, the shadow justice minister and the Labour MP who ousted Mr
Hancock from chairing the all-party Russia Group, said the episode must
trigger a full review of Commons vetting. He said Russian spies were
swarming over London in the same numbers as during the Cold War because of
the capital’s position as an international political centre.
Miss Zatuliveter, 25, underwent security vetting before taking up her
position. Mr Hancock is standing by his assistant, insisting that she has
“nothing to hide”. He has challenged the security services to produce
evidence against her.
Mr Bryant said: “Those who think that Russia is a transformed country are
clearly wrong. This is a regime one should not be aligned to.”
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Gawain Towler
Press Officer
UK Independence Party
Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group