Revealed: Boris Johnson approached Elon Musk on behalf of London Evening Standard owner Lebedev

Former PM’s private office forwarded business proposal from peer to owner of X in June 2024, leaked files suggest

Boris Johnson contacted Elon Musk on behalf of the Evening Standard owner, Evgeny Lebedev, as part of an attempt to get the US tech billionaire to support the ailing newspaper, leaked files suggest.

Johnson’s private office, which is taxpayer-subsidised, emailed an executive close to Musk in June 2024, forwarding a business proposal from Lord Lebedev.