Keir Starmer turned down photo op with Evgeny Lebedev in 2020

Labour leader was invited to visit a church with Standard owner but declined to be pictured alongside him

Keir Starmer turned down a lengthy photo opportunity with Evgeny Lebedev shortly after he became Labour leader, the Guardian can reveal, with aides citing a desire to keep the Russian businessman at arm's length.

Starmer, the MP for Holborn and St Pancras in north London, was invited to spend the day with the proprietor of the Evening Standard and the Independent during the first months of the Covid pandemic.