The Russian media mogul Alexander Lebedev delivered a defiant message to the authorities in his home country tonight, warning he will continue to "act as an agent against corruption".

The owner of the Independent and London Evening Standard addressed newspaper executives in Glasgow a fortnight after his investment bank was raided by armed police in Moscow

Beginning his remarks at the Society of Editors conference, where guests included Alex Salmond, the Scottish first minister, Lebedev made light of the raid, saying "misunderstandings do happen".

A fortnight ago the billionaire was inside the headquarters of his National Reserve bank when armed men burst in. It remains unclear why his bank was targeted, but he used his first speech in the UK to warn that "the power of the state when unbridled is frightening".

Lebedev, a former KGB agent, went on to make a passionate defence of liberal values as he sought to justify his arrival as a newspaper owner in Britain – although his remarks were clearly a warning against growing authoritarianism in his native country.

He told his audience that the press was "a defence against tyranny, corruption, injustice", and he saw newspapers as "a source of light, shining into the dark areas where the powerful and corrupt want to keep things hidden".

Lebedev owns Novaya Gazeta, a Russian title that has been critical of the Kremlin. Several of its journalists have been murdered after exposing wrongdoing at the highest levels of Russian society.

"The press does crucially act as a brake on wrongdoing by exposing it," he said, "and the repercussion is that it makes not just Britain but other places all around the world realise that wrong deeds can and will be uncovered."

In a question and answer session following the speech Lebedev denied the raid on the bank was politically motivated. "Until I get some evidence I would rather say 'no'" he said.

He claimed he was being singled out by corrupt police officials. "This is normal. They attack you. They come looking for bribes. I have seen it many times. They tend to see me as easy prey. Its just a sad fact of life because the political system is wrong".

Lebedev added that the Russian police could act with impunity because they are beyond the remit of government and the courts. "Law enforcement agencies should be under public control", he said.

He also described News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch as "a phenomenon" and praised him for upholding press freedom. "We need 15 Rupert Murdochs rather than one", he said.

Lebedev warned that freedoms introduced in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the right to free speech and an independent press, "must be fought for and protected".He made clear he was committed to safeguarding and extending those freedoms by using Novoya Gazeta to expose corruption. "Journalists and proprietors … need to guard our right to express views, expose facts and to keep journalists able to do what they do best: shining lights in unwelcome places and making the most powerful accountable to the public," he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/no ... ndependent

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