Ben Mallet, a veteran political campaigner for former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was handed an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for ‘political and public service’ in the former PM’s resignation honors list, was today refused entry to Georgia at its border.
He was to visit Tbilisi in order to meet the country’s leading opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM).
Mallet is currently working as director of international campaigns for US strategic consultancy The Messina Group, a full-service strategic consulting firm, serving clients around the world.
He was to visit the UNM, a liberal and pro-Western political party, in Tbilisi this week, but was turned away at the border.
Levan Khabeishvili, MP member of the UNM declared “Can you imagine that a British citizen was not allowed, but they lay a red carpet for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian generals?”
He went on to accuse the government of double standards and of sparking a “diplomatic scandal”.
Ben Mallet was questioned by border guards and his formal entry rejection was then issued by the authorities on ‘ambiguous grounds’.
By Léa Montagne
