Sir Simon Clarke challenged to return donations from company MoD has "national security concerns" over

It’s the second donation for that amount that Sir Simon has accepted from the company so far this year. Since September 2018, Sir Simon has received a total of £35,000 from either Aquind or Alexander Temerko, one of the firm’s directors.

Mr Temerko, a Ukrainian-born British citizen, is one of the Conservative party’s largest donors, having personally donated more than £700,000 to individual Tory MPs since 2012. Aquind Ltd, meanwhile, has donated £1m to the Conservative party.

After moving to Moscow to study, Mr Temerko became a prominent supporter of former president Boris Yeltsin and eventually held a number of positions in the Russian Defence Ministry in the 1990s. He fled to the UK after being accused of forgery and of stealing shares, however a British judge ruled against extraditing him to Russia on the grounds his prosecution was politically motivated.

He has long been an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.

Aquind also has Viktor Fedotov, a Russian-born oil executive as a non-executive director. Mr Fedotov, also a British citizen, had previously headed a number of Russian oil companies, and his role at Aquind had previously been hidden on Companies House’s register under a rarely-used security exemption.

The government’s previous decision decision to refuse permission for Aquind’s proposed interconnector was overturned in the High Court last year.

In March the MoD wrote to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with whom the planning decision now rests, to ask to establish a secure channel through which to raise its security concerns about Aquind with the department.

Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Sir Simon’s seat, Luke Myer, wrote to the incumbent MP outlining his concerns about the donation.

“I was deeply concerned to read reports… that you accepted a donation from a Russia-linked company after the Ministry of Defence raised ‘significant national security concerns’ about its proposed infrastructure project,” he wrote.

Adding: “It is wholly inappropriate to continue to accept money from Aquind and its owners given the serious concerns that have been raised about the project.

Mr Myer concluded his letter by asking if Sir Simon would, “return the donations from Aquind Ltd and those associated with it?”

A Government spokesman said: “Our priority will always be maintaining our national security and any new infrastructure will not jeopardise this. It would be inappropriate to comment on a redetermination process whilst it is still ongoing.”

A spokesperson for Aquind said it was “disappointing” the MoD had “failed to even outline the nature of the alleged concerns.

“Furthermore, Aquind is a British company, and all of Aquind’s directors and shareholders are British citizens. Any donations made are in strict accordance with all regulations and with total transparency. Supporting and donating to political parties is the right of all British citizens and companies, and a fundamental part of the democratic process.”

Sir Simon has been approached for comment.