Maldon MP John Whittingdale has responded to rumours he had received money from an individual with links to Russia.

Mr Whittingdale has denied claims he has received money from Russian donors.

He said the donor in question, Alexander Temerko, is, in fact, a British citizen who was born in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1960s.

He also regularly criticises Russian president Vladimir Putin.

In 2019, Mr Whittingdale received a donation to his election campaign of £8,000 from Mr Temerko through his company, Aquind.

READ MORE: Maldon MP urges people to 'stand in solidarity with Ukraine' amid war

He said: “He supported my campaign in recognition of my long-standing involvement in supporting democracy in Ukraine and opposing Russian aggression against that country.

“It was in recognition of this that I also received the Order of Merit of Ukraine from President Volodymyr Zelensky.”

Mr Temerko also donated two items to Colchester’s MP Will Quince, which he auctioned at a dinner to help fund his re-election campaign. The items raised £5,750.

Mr Quince added: “We need to make clear our beef here is with Putin and Putin’s regime not the Russian people and people of Russian heritage.”

Alexander Temerko issued a statement after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine condemning Putin’s “thugs” and their assault on the capital of his homeland, Kyiv.