Russian Sanctions Regime

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. This Government are determined to increase the pressure on Russia and support Ukraine. We will keep our Russia sanctions regime under close review, and will go further to reduce Russia’s capacity to wage war. The Government have already taken further action, including through the European Political Community, by sanctioning an additional 11 ships as part of efforts to disrupt and deter Russia’s shadow fleet. In my early meetings, I have raised our Russia sanctions consistently with my counterparts, and I will continue to work with our closest allies in Europe and United States.

The UK has sanctioned 2,000 individuals and entities since Russia’s unlawful full-scale invasion of Ukraine, yet since 2022 there has been just one instance of UK law enforcement securing sanctioned funds. What discussions is the Minister having with his counterparts across Government to ensure that those who evade sanctions are held to account and that money held unlawfully is secured for the public purse?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that important question. This Government will not hesitate to take firm action to close loopholes and to strengthen the enforcement of sanctions. He will understand that I will not comment on future designations or enforcement actions. As I have said, we have already taken some early steps on the shadow fleet, but he is right: there is much more to do, whether to improve compliance or to target those who enable sanctioned individuals to evade our sanctions, and I will of course keep the House closely updated.

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his early statement calling on the Russian Government to release the British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza. Will he look at what further sanctions might be used to put pressure on the Russian Government to release him and other political prisoners, such as the American journalist Evan Gershkovich?

The right hon. Gentleman is right to raise this important question. We call for the release of all those detained in Russia on political grounds, including those imprisoned for their opposition to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. We have met many of the families of those concerned, and we will continue to take this very seriously.

I call the shadow Minister.

May I start by congratulating the Minister on his appointment? I know how hard he worked on this brief in opposition. He will know that the longer those Russian sanctions are in place, the more creative Russia becomes at circumventing them. What steps do he and the Foreign Secretary plan to take to end the UK’s indirect import of Russian crude oil via the three refineries at Jamnagar, Vadinar and New Mangalore? Did the Foreign Secretary discuss that issue when he travelled to see our Commonwealth friends in India last week?

It is a pleasure to see the hon. Lady in her position and to have worked with her many times on these issues in the past, across these Benches and in other formats. As the Foreign Secretary and I have already outlined, we took robust action against Russia’s shadow fleet, alongside allies at the European Political Community. We will continue to explore further options to strengthen our sanctions, including in the energy sector, and the Foreign Secretary did indeed raise the issue at his meetings in Mangalore.[Official Report, 3 September 2024; Vol. 753, c. 4WC.] (Correction)