Boris Johnson met with Maltese professor linked to US Russia investigation

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appears to have lied about whether he had ever met with Joseph Mifsud, the professor named in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe into Russian meddling in US elections, after a photo emerged showing the two together at an event.

Mifsud, who once served as personal assistant to then foreign minister Michael Frendo, is believed to have introduced former Trump advisor George Papadopoulos to a Russian who said he was close to officials at the Russian foreign affairs ministry. Mifsud had once addressed a news conference with Labour leader Joseph Muscat about an initiative to bring more tertiary education pluralism to Malta.

The Observer reports that the revelations came at a time when “concern is growing about possible Russian interference in the Brexit campaign, in which the foreign secretary played a crucial role”.

Moreover, the report claims that though the FBI Had known about Mifsud’s role as a high-level go-between linking the Trump campaign and the Russian government since at least July, “it appears British Intelligence did not warn the foreign secretary about the potential embarrassment or security implications before he attended a fundraising dinner with Mifsud on 19 October”.

Critics have rejected this version of events, insisting it was inconceivable that the FBI hadn’t told their UK counterparts about Mifsud, who was reported by the same newspaper, to have told colleagues that he was planning on meeting Johnson to discuss Brexit.

Last week a spokesman for Johnson said the two had never “knowingly met” after it emerged that they had attended the same event.