Tory donor and sculptor posed with Putin bronze and praised warlord as a ‘great leader’ in cringeworthy video made for the Russian embassy before the invasion of Ukraine (and he has also made one of Boris Johnson)
- Nadey Hakim described the artwork as ‘a diamond’ in his collection of leaders
- He used two-minute June 2021 video posted on Facebook to sing Putin’s praises
- Last night surgeon said: ‘Things obviously have changed, I do not support Putin’
A Tory donor and sculptor praised Vladimir Putin as a ‘great leader’ while posing with his home-made bust of the Russian tyrant in a video made for his brutal regime.
Harley Street surgeon Nadey Hakim described the artwork as ‘a diamond’ in his collection of sculptures of world leaders that includes Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.
In comments that are likely to embarrass the Conservatives he used the two-minute video posted on Facebook last year to sing the praises of Mr Putin.
By the time it was published in June 2021 the autocrat had already been implicated in the Salisbury nerve agent attack that left a British woman dead. His forces had also been occupying Crimea for seven years by that point.
Mr Hakim, a transplant and bariatric specialist who performed the world’s first hand transplant, has donated almost £150,000 to the Conservatives since 2011.
In the video, posted by the Russian Embassy in London, he posed with the bust of Putin, saying: ‘Undoubtedly he is one of the most influential people in the world and will leave a deep print in history.
‘In my opinion, the Russian people have chosen a great leader, confirming his authority time after time.
Harley Street surgeon Nadey Hakim described the artwork as ‘a diamond’ in his collection of sculptures of world leaders that includes Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.
In comments that are likely to embarrass the Conservatives he used the two-minute video posted on Facebook last year to sing the praises of Mr Putin.
Mr Hakim, a transplant and bariatric specialist who performed the world’s first hand transplant, has donated almost £150,000 to the Conservatives since 2011.
‘I admire Putin’s determination to assert Russian power after years of perceived underestimation by the US and its Nato allies. The world needs Putin as a counterbalance to preserve its multipolar structure and avoid global deflation.’
Professor Hakim distanced himself from the video and his remarks after they were revealed by the Times last night, saying with hindsight he had been ‘totally wrong’.
He told the paper: ‘Things obviously have changed and I categorically do not support Putin and his actions. I am categorically against what he has done and what he is doing.’
In relation to Putin’s actions in Crimea and the Donbas he added: ‘I did not have a chance to look at all those things myself. I was really more supporting the Russian people as such.’
He said that he had made busts of all sorts of world leaders and that they did not equate to support for their politics.
He has also been filmed performing as a clarinetist in Christmas concerts organised by the Russian embassy, branding the appearances ‘apolitcal’ and adding: You can’t prevent people from being musicians and artists.’
Prof Hakim hit the headlines in 2016 when he won a claim for unfair dismissal against a London Hospital Trust.
Professor Hakim, who had by then completed 2,000 procedures over a 30-year career, was fired in 2014 for gross misconduct after he was accused of prioritising a private patient over an NHS case.
Imperial College Healthcare – which runs five London hospitals – was ordered to reinstate him and told to pay him more than £100,000 to compensate for his loss of income.
His legal battle has cost £200,000, forcing the father of four to remortgage the family home in West Hampstead, North West London.
He said at the time he believed he had been dismissed partly because colleagues were opposed to his support for the Conservative Party.
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