PROTESTORS gathered outside Robert Buckland MP's office to criticise the amount of Russian money in British politics.

They wore signs claiming the South Swindon representative and his North Swindon counterpart Justin Tomlinson MP each received £5,000 from a Russian benefactor.

Sir Robert said the money from Alexander Temerko was used for party campaigning and stressed that Mr Temerko is a Ukraine-born British citizen and enemy of Vladimir Putin.

A group of people dressed in blue and yellow and wearing Russian-style hats gathered outside Mr Buckland's Wood Street office on Saturday afternoon to draw attention to their concerns by waving placards, playing Money by Pink Floyd, and handing out fake Roubles to passerby and asking if they were a Conservative politican.

Adam Poole started a Parliamentary petition calling for a public inquiry which has received 36,000 signatures so far.

He told the Adver: "Russians gave money to MPs, Eugene Lebvedev joined the House of Lords, London is full of oligarchs' cash.

"We need an explanation on why they took this money, what they did with it, and whether they could donate the same amount to a Ukraine humanitarian charity. Putin has invaded another country and bombed civilians, he's as bad as Hitler, so any Russian money should not be acceptable in British politics."

Steve Rouse added: "Our national security is at risk because of this, and it has weakened Europe. The prime minister had to be nagged into mild sanctions and gave oligarchs time to sell their assets.

"Democracy is for sale and the Kremlin wants to buy it."

This Is Wiltshire:

Swindon's MPs each received £5,000 from Offshore Group Newcastle, of which Mr Temerko was vice-chairman, in December 2014 and January 2015 respectively. The Ukrainian came to the UK in the early 2000s after the Russian state seized the assets of his firm, Yukos, then became a British citizen in 2011.

Mr Buckland accused the protestors of misrepresenting the source of the donations he and Mr Tomlinson received.

He added: "I don't mind people making points of opinion but this is a lie. I resent the ill-informed imputation that I was influenced by Russian money. I have spoken up for human rights and supported opponents who are against this bullying regime for years, people should get their facts right.

"During a Parliamentary debate about Sergei Magnitsky [a Ukrainian who exposed corruption Russian government corruption and died in prison in 2009], I accused Putin of running a kleptocracy, which caused uproar, and when I was in government, I made sure we created sanctions against Russian oligarchs."