Modesty Blaise and the KGB!

Headline news -- an ex-KGB agent is to buy the Evening Standard, current home of the Modesty Blaise strip. Reportedly, Mr. Lebedev used to search the Evening Standard for information when he was a young spy in London. Did he read Modesty Blaise, too...?
(And I wonder of Modesty would have been offended by the low price of one pound)

You can read about it here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7841891.stm