Afternoon summary
- Keir Starmer has urged the government to end the “era of impunity” in the UK for Russian oligarchs. (See 2.47pm.) He was speaking at PMQs ahead of a Commons debate that saw Labour set out details of the links between several prominent Tory donors and the Kremlin. (See 4.51pm.) But ministers have refused to accept that their Russian-linked donors are suspect, insisting that it is wrong to see them as Vladmir Putin’s cronies. (See 9.32am.)
- Restoring the Palace of Westminster without finding a new home for MPs could take up to 76 years, with a repairs bill reaching £22bn, a new report shows. PA says:
In an initial assessment of the cost and schedule for action required to save the palace, and an analysis of how this would be impacted by keeping MPs on site, the project’s sponsor body and delivery authority looked at a range of possible scenarios for carrying out the work.
The cheapest option would involve a “full decant” of the palace for between 12 and 20 years, with the work costing in the region of £7bn to £13bn.
In this scenario, with MPs elsewhere for much of the time, the report estimated the restoration would take between 19 and 28 years.
If MPs were to maintain a “continued presence” in the palace, where “all essential and highly desirable functions could be accommodated but in more condensed space”, it found that the work would cost more and take longer.
In one scenario, business would remain within the Commons Chamber “until such a point is reached whereby all operations are transferred to another space within the Palace of Westminster (assumed to be the House of Lords Chamber), to allow the rest of the work to proceed”, the report said.
It estimated this would boost restoration costs to between £9.5bn and £18.5bn, taking 26 to 43 years.
And in a third possible scenario - which would cost the most and take the longest - business would remain within the Chamber “throughout the entirety of the restoration and renewal programme of works”, with “no transfer”.
It is estimated this would cost between £11bn and £22bn and take in the region of 46 to 76 years.
That’s all from me for today. But there is more coverage of the Ukraine crisis on global live blog. It’s here.
Andrew Robathan, a Tory peer and a former armed forces minister, told Times Radio the UK should “stop being pathetic” and adopt a more robust stance on Russian oligarchs. He told the station:
I think we have to get the legal position right. And one of the problems we’ve had in this country, I don’t know if you know about a book called Putin’s People, which I’m reading at the moment, and the author, whose name escapes me, I think she was an FT journalist, has been sued for libel in our courts. And of course she’s got lots of overpaid lawyers prosecuting her. Now this is a war between Ukraine and Putin’s Russia. And we must stop playing by our rules entirely. I’m not saying be illegal, we have to stop being pathetic when it comes to rich oligarchs who are who were basically gangsters who made their money in Russia.
(The book, Putin’s People, is by Catherine Belton, and it’s excellent.)
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, remains the UK’s most popular senior politician, according to new polling from YouGov.
While Rishi Sunak is not as popular as he once was, he remains the UK's most popular senior politician
— YouGov (@YouGov) February 23, 2022
Rishi Sunak: -1 net favourability (↗️8 from 9 Feb)
Keir Starmer: -25 (↘️11)
Boris Johnson: -39 (↗️10)https://t.co/BkHXjw99gO pic.twitter.com/B1v9YjCWas
Salmond should be expelled from privy council over RT links, say Scottish Lib Dems
Alex Salmond is facing fresh cross-party pressure to cancel his chat show on the Kremlin-funded channel RT after Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, called for the former first minister to be expelled from the privy council.
Like George Galloway, another Scottish ex-MP for both Labour and Respect, Salmond anchors a weekly show on RT which is produced by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, also a former Scottish National party MP. It routinely features Salmond’s allies, including Angus MacNeil, the SNP MP for the Western Isles.
Salmond became a member of the privy council in 2007. It is an honour mostly granted to senior parliamentarians, who can be allowed access to secret intelligence material on privy council terms.
Cole-Hamilton has written to Mark Spencer MP, lord president of the Privy Council, and to the Lord Privy Seal Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, asking for him to expelled from it. RT had portrayed Russia’s incursion into Ukraine as “a liberation”, he said.
I believe Mr Salmond’s close and financial association with an agent of a hostile state should therefore render him unfit to offer further advice to Her Majesty the Queen from his role as a privy councillor.
His decision to continue hosting the show came under heavy attack from Nicola Sturgeon, Salmond’s successor as SNP leader and first minister, earlier on Wednesday. (See 2.14pm.) Other senior figures in the SNP quickly lined up alongside her, applauding the decision by the UK government to ask the broadcasting regulator Ofcom to review RT’s broadcasting licence.
Stewart McDonald, the SNP’s defence spokesman, tweeted this:
Spot on from @NicolaSturgeon. As RT’s Global Editor in Chief said RT is for ‘conducting information war against the whole Western world’. It is not a normal news service and we should stop treating it as such. https://t.co/qeLNts60Nf
— Stewart McDonald MP (@StewartMcDonald) February 23, 2022
Salmond’s party Alba said earlier this week it “condemns the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” by Russia’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk but it said Nato’s influence needed to be curbed, to protect “Russia’s own security interests.”
Updated
Labour complains about government's refusal to give details of further arms being supplied to Ukraine
Labour has written to complain about the lack of transparency following Boris Johnson’s statement at prime minister’s questions that the UK would be providing “lethal aid” to Ukraine as part of “a further package of military support”.
Shortly after Downing Street said “no further details” could be provided, citing “operational security reasons,” prompting Labour’s shadow defence spokesman to complain that MPs and the public were being kept in the dark at what could be a significant commitment.
John Healey, writing to defence secretary Ben Wallace, said, while the opposition supported the principle of supplying arms to Ukraine to help defend itself, it was “also right that MPs continue to be properly updated”.
Overnight the Sun reported that the UK was preparing to send a Sky Sabre radar system to be deployed in Poland along its 240km border with Ukraine. Mounted on trucks it is also capable of firing small missiles to hit rockets or planes.
Defence sources added two units Sky Sabre units from the Royal Artillery would be heading to Poland imminently, travelling on land and by boat to reach the border within days.
Labour said that previously, on 17 January, Wallace had come to the Commons to say that the UK had supplied anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. Then on 10 February Wallace had set out the further supply of body armour, helmets and combat boots, in a written statement. But on this occasion it appeared no formal detail was forthcoming.
Healey urged Wallace, in the light of the prime minister’s declaration, “to provide details to parliament as soon as possible”.
MPs hear details of Tory donors with links to Kremlin
The Labour opposition day motion on getting illicit Russion money out of the UK was passed at the end of the debate unopposed. For the record, this is what the motion said:
That this house expresses solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and supports their sovereignty and Ukraine’s territorial integrity; condemns Russian aggression and emphasises the UK’s commitment to Nato; resolves to end illicit finance that rewards and sustains the Putin regime in Russia; calls on the government to introduce an economic crime bill, an overseas entities bill and a register of beneficial ownership by the end of March 2022; and further calls on the foreign secretary to make a statement to this House on the implementation of the recommendations of the intelligence and security committee’s Russia report.
One of the most powerful speeches in the debate came from Liam Byrne, the Labour former chief secretary to the Treasury, who mocked Liz Truss’s claim in interviews this morning that the Russians who have given money to the Conservative party are not linked to the Putin regime in Moscow. (See 9.32am.) Saying that he intended to offer the Tories a vetting service, Byrne listed seven donors who he implied were suspect.
Lubov Chernukhin
Byrne said Chernukin had donated £2.1m to the Tories. He said her husband Vladimir (the fomer Russian deputy finance minister) received £8m from Suleiman Kerimov, who was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2018. Byrne said the transfer to Vladimir came on 29 April 2016 “mysteriously just before a donation of £1.9m to the Conservative party”.
Alexander Temerko
Byrne said Temerko was someone who had “forged a career at the top of the arms industry” and who had connections at the highest levels in the Kremlin. Byrne said Temerko was a deputy chairman of the Yukos oil comany but “somehow mysteriously escaped the purge of is colleagues”. He has donated £747,000 to the party, Byrne said.
Viktor Fedotov
Byrne said Temerko had been working very closely with Fedotov, who was a director of Aquind and a former head of a subsidiary of Lukoil. In the Pandora Papers Fedotov was revealed as man who made fortunes in the company in the mid 2000s “around the time it was alleged to be syphoning funds from the Russian state monopoly company Transneft”, Byrne said.
Dmitry Leus
Byrne said Leus had donated £54,000. According to Daily Mail, Leus was found guilty of money laundering and jailed in Russia in 2004, Byrne said. Byrne said that Leus said the prosecution was politcally motivated, and the conviction was overturned. Byrne went on:
Here is the mystery. He also donated to the Prince’s Foundation. The Prince’s Foundation has decided to return Mr Leus’s money. The Conservative party, you will be amazed to hear, has not.
Mohamed Amersi
Byrne said Amersi and his wife had given £793,000 to the Conservative party. He said Amersi had reportedly been involved in “one of the biggest corruption scandals in Europe”, which involved $220m being paid to a Gibraltar-based company owned by the daughter of the president of Uzbekistan. Byrne said Amersi says his donations came from UK profits. But the FT said he received £4m from a company he knew was secretly owned by a powerful Russian, President Putin’s telecoms minister, Byrne said.
Murtaza Lakhani
Byrne said Lakhani’s firm, Mercentile and Maritime, has donated £500,000 to the party. Byrne said Bloomberg has reported that Lakhani made made large parts of his fortune by channelling $6bn from Russian oil giant Rosneft to Kurdistan.
David Burnside
Byrne said Burnside’s firm has donated £200,000 to the party. Burnside, a former Ulster Unionist MP, boasts of his links to senior figures in the Kremlin and has introduced several to senior Tory figures, Byrne said.
In her speech at the start of the debate Amanda Milling, the former Conservative party co-chair who is now a Foreign Office minister, said the party did not accept foreign donations and that all donations were from British citizens “received in good faith, after appropriate due diligence”.
She also said that Russian-linked donors were not necessarily Putin allies. She said:
There are people in this country of Russian origin who are British citizens. Many are critics of Putin and it is completely wrong and discriminatory to tar them with the same brush.
Updated
The i’s Arj Singh has posted this on Twitter explaining why a question from the Labour MP Imran Hussain about the Islamphobia allegations against Mark Spencer, leader of the Commons, was disallowed during PMQs. (See 12.27pm.)
Commons spokeswoman on why Speaker Lindsay Hoyle stopped Imran Hussein asking his question at #PMQs on alleged Tory Islamophobia pic.twitter.com/dGRjIWWNGh
— Arj Singh (@singharj) February 23, 2022
Ofcom says it won't hestitate to take 'swift action' against RT if necessary - but stresses rules drawn up by parliament
Ofcom has released the text of a letter from its chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, to Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, responding to her call for it to review RT’s broadcasting licence. (See 12.09pm and 1.31pm.)
In her letter, Dawes effectively says her organisation is already on the case and that it will “not hesitate to take swift action where necessary”.
She also says that Ofcom is only enforcing rules drawn up by parliament. She explains:
Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, which reflects the rules established by parliament in the Communications Act, requires all licensees to ensure that news – in whatever form – is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. It is acceptable for broadcasters to present issues from a particular perspective provided that alternative views and opinions are also represented. It would not be acceptable for any of our licensees to broadcast one-sided propaganda.
Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
UK sanctions risk 'being seen as feeble by Russia', says David Davis
David Davis, the Conservative former Brexit secretary who is one of the few Tory MPs to have publicly called for Boris Johnson’s resignation, told Radio 4’s World at One that the government’s sanctions package against Russia risked being seen as “feeble”. He told the programme:
Whilst one understands that the government wants to make a staged response, this risks being seen as feeble by Russia. They immediately responded by stepping up their military activity.
It doesn’t provide the sort of robust, exemplary leadership that we should be giving to a western alliance which is at its weakest point probably in living memory. It risks gives an early warning to all the oligarchs we should be penalising.
Updated
In response to a point of order after PMQs, Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, told MPs that he would be making a Commons statement tomorrow about access to universities. As my colleagues Richard Adams and Sally Weale report, Zahawi is expected to announce that students in England could be blocked from going to university unless they get strong GCSE or A-level grades.
Senior Met officer attacks Sadiq Khan over Cressida Dick exit
Scotland Yard’s leadership has hit back at Sadiq Khan’s ousting of the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Cressida Dick, claiming “due process” was not been followed by the mayor of London. As my colleague Vikram Dodd reports, Sir Stephen House, the Met deputy commissioner and a close ally of Dick, made the comments against Khan, who publicly clashed with Dick earlier this month. Vikram’s full story is here.
Starmer urges Johnson at PMQs to end 'era of oligarch impunity'
Here is the PA Media story about the Johnson/Starmer exchanges at PMQs.
Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to get on with ending the “era of oligarch impunity” in the UK following Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine.
Shouts of “get on with it” could be heard from the Labour benches as the prime minister insisted “even more” sanctions against Russia are coming, when pressed to “unleash a full package” of measures by Starmer.
Labour MPs were also seen tapping their watches and repeatedly shouting “when?” after Johnson told the Commons that “any Russian entity, any Russian individual” and members of the Russian parliament could now be targeted by UK sanctions and that further legislation is planned.
Speaking at PMQs, Starmer said: “Putin has invaded a sovereign European nation, he’s attacked because he fears openness and democracy and because he knows that given a choice people will not choose to live under erratic violent rule.
“He seeks division, we must stay united. He hopes for inaction, we must take a stand. He believes we’re too corrupted to do the right thing, so we must prove him wrong - and I believe that we can.
“So will the prime minister work across the House to ensure that this is the end of the era of oligarch impunity by saying that this House and this country will no longer be homes for their loot?”
Johnson claimed in his reply: “I don’t think any government could conceivably be doing more to root out corrupt Russian money - and that is what we’re going to do, and I think we can be proud of what we’ve already done and the measures we have set out.
“It is absolutely vital that we in the UK should stand united and people around the world can see that the UK was the first to call out what President Putin was doing in Ukraine, we’ve been instrumental in bringing the western world together in lockstep to deal with the problem, to bring together the economic package of sanctions that I have set out.
“There is still time for President Putin, as I’ve said, to de-escalate.
“But what is at stake, be in absolutely no doubt, is not just the democracy of Ukraine but the principle of democracy around the world, and that is why the unity of this House is so important today, and it is absolutely vital that the United Kingdom stands together against aggression in Ukraine.”
Sturgeon says Ofcom should consider banning RT, saying she's 'appalled' Alex Salmond still has programme on it
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has said she is “appalled” that Alex Salmond,her predecessor, still has a programme on the Kremlin-backed RT (formerly Russia Today). In an interview with STV News, she said:
I’m appalled at Alex Salmond’s continued involvement with RT, I don’t think it’s any secret now that I don’t think he should ever have had a television show on RT, but it is even more unthinkable now that that should continue.
I don’t think any elected representative should be contemplating appearing on RT right now, I will give that message - have given that message – to elected officials here at the Scottish parliament, I know (SNP Westminster leader) Ian Blackford has done so in Westminster.
Salmond was first minister and SNP leader until he lost the independence referendum in 2014. He subsequently fell out with Sturgeon, who previously had been a close friend and ally, over her response to allegations he had committed sexual assault and attempted rape (he was cleared of all charges when the cases went to court) and last year he set up a new party, Alba, which he leads.
Sturgeon also said she wanted Ofcom to consider whether RT should be banned. She said:
It’s a matter for Ofcom, but I do think there is now a very serious question about whether RT should continue to have a licence to broadcast here in Scotland and I would certainly encourage Ofcom to look at that very, very seriously and closely indeed.
Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA
Updated
Johnson issues clarification, withdrawing claim Roman Abramovich subject to sanctions
In the Commons yesterday Boris Johnson said the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was already subject to UK sanctions. He has now issued a written ministerial statement, headed “clarficiation”, saying: “Roman Abramovich has not been the subject of targeted measures.”
Johnson was referring to difficulties Abramovich had renewing his visa, which led to him getting Israeli citizenship, allowing him to enter the UK without a visa for short stays.
In his statement Johnson says: “Anyone who comes to this country on an Israeli passport is a non-visa national. Israelis are required to obtain a visa if they want to live, work or study in the UK.”
No 10 says it does have power under existing legislation to impose sanctions on members of Duma
Here are the main points from the post-PMQs No 10 lobby briefing.
- No 10 refused to give further details of the extra arms being supplied by the UK to Ukraine. Boris Johnson announced the move at PMQs. (See 12.03pm.) Asked what was being supplied to Ukraine, the PM’s spokesperson said:
There are operational security reasons about why I can’t go into further details about what that package entails.
- The spokesman said that the government does have the legal powers to impose sanctions on members of the Duma, but that it was still finalising the “evidence” needed to justify this. Johnson was questioned on this at PMQs, but gave an answer that did not clarify the situation. (See 12.36pm.) Asked to explain what was happening, the spokesperson said:
We can do this under existing legislation. We are finalising the evidence to bring forward new designations against the 351 members of the Russian state assembly and the members of the federation council who voted in that way.
- The spokesman said the government was asking Ofcom to keep a “watchful eye” on RT (formerly Russia Today). He said:
Ofcom does have the powers to step in when broadcasting rules have been breached and obviously, as you know, they previously sanctioned Russia Today for serious failures to comply with broadcasting rules on impartiality.
All the culture secretary is asking is Ofcom takes any appropriate action should there be any attempt to use Russia Today to spread disinformation.
See 1.31pm for a copy of the letter to Ofcom. Asked whether Johnson would advise his father not to appear again on RT, the spokesman said: “Obviously that’s a matter for individuals who appear to make that decision.”
- The PM’s press secretary defended the Conservative party’s right to take money from people with Russian links. She said:
The Conservative party does not accept foreign donations, that’s illegal.
I would make the point that there are people in this country of Russian origin who are British citizens, many are critics of Putin, so it’s wrong and discriminatory to tar them all with the same brush.
The press secretary also said the “necessary due diligence” was in place to check where donations had come from.
Updated
This is from Oliver Dowden, the Conservative party chair, echoing a point made by Boris Johnson at PMQs. (See 1.27pm.)
Labour MPs and their union paymasters ‘refute the idea that NATO is a defensive alliance’ and say ‘Britain needs to change its policy’ on Ukraine.
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) February 23, 2022
Will @Keir_Starmer show he is serious in his support for NATO and standing up to Russian aggression by removing the whip from them?
Steven Swinford from the Times has posted on Twitter a copy of the letter sent by Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, to Ofcom asking it to review RT’s licence.
Exclusive
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) February 23, 2022
Nadine Dorries has told Ofcom to take 'timely & transparent' action against Russian state backed broadcaster RT
She's concerned RT will 'look to spread harmful disinformation'
'I call on you to ensure actions are timely & transparent to reassure the British public' pic.twitter.com/53ZU6u9MAV
PMQs – snap verdict
PMQs has never been a forum that handles nuance particularly well, and the format – indeed, even the furnishings in the chamber – encourages everything to be presented in binary. And yet today Keir Starmer was trying to pull off some mixed messaging; broad support for the government over the principle of a robust response to Russia, while criticising the government for not going far enough. Boris Johnson was also caught in the same trap himself, trying to maintain that there is cross-party support for the government’s stance on Putin, while at the same time hacking the opposition in the shins.
Johnson’s messaging got particularly confused when he delivered one of the significant news announcements of the session – telling Starmer that the government has now asked Ofcom for review RT’s licence. But immediately after saying this, and appearing to take credit for robust action against a Kremlin fake news machine, Johnson insisted on adding a rider about his commitment to the principle of free speech. He said:
We live in a democracy, Mr Speaker, and we live in a country that believes in free speech and I think it’s important that we should leave it up to Ofcom rather than to politicians to decide which media organisations to ban.
Sometimes mixed messaging can win over the support of people on both sides of an argument, but this just left people thoroughly confused as to whether Johnson favours a crackdown on RT or not.
Of course, if free speech means the right to spout spurious claims without challenge, then it is not hard to see why Johnson is such a fan and his broad response to Starmer’s claims about the flaws with his Russia strategy – which was that Britain has been “out in front” in terms of sanctions, and that no one was doing more to address the “dirty money” problem – will be seen as bogus by anyone with more than a passing knowledge of the issue. Starmer picked out the holes in Johnson’s case quite gracefully, and twice he stressed that he wasn’t trying to make party political capital out of the issue. He certainly held the moral high ground, although the case against the government may have been made more powerfully by the ferocious barracking directed at Caroline Lucas when she asked about Russian interference in elections – a performance that sounded like evidence of a party that has something to hide. (See 12.22pm.)
Johnson, as usual, was far less squeamish about going party political, and he directed two jibes at Labour, over Barry Gardiner taking money for office costs from a Chinese agent, and over Labour leftwingers blaming Nato for the Ukraine crisis, and one against the SNP, over its former leader Alex Salmond appearing on RT. It was classic whataboutery, and not relevant to the criticisms being made by Starmer or Ian Blackford, but all three attacks were sharp, memorable and effective. They went a long way towards rescuing him in what was otherwise a difficult outing.
Updated
Chris Bryant (Lab) makes a point of order to say that Boris Johnson is going to correct the record over what he said about Roman Abramovich yesterday. (See 10.43am.) He says this is unprecedented; it has taken a Russian billionaire to get the PM to correct the record. He suggests that the Hansard edition containing Johnson’s correct should be bound in gold to mark the event.
On a point of order Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says Alex Salmond has “nothing to do with” the SNP. Salmond is the leader of another party, Alba. He says the SNP makes it clear that none of its parliamentarians should have anything to do with RT.
Wayne David (Lab) says the Times leader this morning is severely critical of the sanctios measure. If Johnson won’t listen to MPs, will he listen to the Times?
Johnson says the UK is leading the way on this. He says what would be strong would be for the leader of the opposition to take the Labour whip away from the 14 Labour MPs who say Nato is the aggressor in Ukraine.
Daniel Kawzcynski (Con) asks for more government help to address flooding on the river Severn.
Johnson says the government is investing £5.2bn in flood defences.
Jamie Stone (Lib Dem) says it is a “disgrace” that Alex Salmond broadcasts his “half-baked world views” on Russian TV (RT).
Johnson says that point would have been even more powerful if Ian Blackford had made it.
Margaret Hodge (Lab) says ministers have given contradictory statements about sanctioning members of the Duma (the Russian parliament), with some saying the government already has the power to sanction them, and some saying fresh legislation is needed. Who is right?
Johnson says sanctioning parliamentarians is difficult. He says the government will do more.
(His answer implies that the relevant legislation is not yet in place, although he does not say that explicitly.)
UPDATE: Hodge said:
Yesterday the prime minister told us that we can sanction Duma members in the government’s new sanctions package. The member for Braintree [Foreign Office minister James Cleverly] told the house that we could sanctioned Duma members not through the new regime but in an extension of previous sanction rules. Yet this morning the foreign secretary [Liz Truss] said that the sanctions against Duma members will ‘take weeks to be made legally watertight’. So prime minister who is right? How can we say we are standing strong against Russian aggression when our sanctions response is such a muddle and such a mess?
Johnson replied:
I hope the whole house will agree that it is quite a thing to sanction parliamentarians. That is what we are doing.
Updated
Andy Carter (Con) asks about funding for buses in Warrington. Will the money be spent on British-made buses?
Johnson says Warrington is getting £20m for zero emission buses. He says 80% of buses are produced domestically.
Sam Tarry (Lab) asks about knife crime, and the death of a constituent.
Johnson says he understands the family’s tragic loss. The government is rounding up county lines drug lines. They play a large part in this, he says.
Andrew Jones (Con) says some of the people most vulnerable to Covid are in danger of being missed form the present system for identifying the most vulnerable.
Johnson says the 1.3m who are most vulnerable will have access to testing and antivirals.
Barbara Keeley (Lab) says unpaid family carers are treated appallingly by the government. Carers’ allowance has gone up by just £2. But the cost of this will be swallowed up by the cost of a single lateral flow test. How can that be justified?
Johnson says the government cannot keep free universal testing going indefinitely.
Imran Hussain (Lab) says the PM is “no stranger to derogatory remarks about Muslim women”. He is asking about the inquiry into Mark Spencer and the “Muslimness” claim.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says this is no place to discuss the allegation. He interrupts Hussain, and allows Johnson not to address the question.
UPDATE: Hussain said:
The member for Sherwood is currently under investigation for Islamophobia following accusations he told a fellow MP that her being a Muslim was making colleagues uncomfortable. How did the Government punish this behaviour? With a promotion that puts the accused member in charge of the complaints procedure. And, of course, we all know that the prime minister himself is no stranger to derogatory remarks about Muslim women, so let me ...
That prompted Hoyle to say: “This is not the appropriate place to be raising this.”
SECOND UPDATE: See 3.44pm for an explanation as to why the question was disallowed.
Updated
Kerry McCarthy (Lab) asks how it looks for members of the cabinet to be “throwing their toys out of the pram” because they want to eat foie gras when there is a cost of living crisis.
Johnson ignores the foie gras point, and lists government measures to help people with the cost of living.
Caroline Lucas (Green) says when Johnson was foreign secretary, he said there was no evidence of “successful” Russian interference in UK elections. What evidence has he seen of unsuccessful interference in UK elections.
Lucas is being barracked particularly loudly by Tory MPs (some of whom are particularly sensitive to claims Russia tried to intervene in the Brexit referendum).
Johnson ignores the question, and repeats his claim that he has seen no evidence of successful Russian intervention in UK elections.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, says sanctions need to be stronger. We should not wait for Russia to attack before getting rid of Russian “dirty money” from London, he says. He says in the past he raised the issue of limited partnership. Some 113 of them have been used to channel $20.8m, he says. But the government has not addressed the problem, he says.
Johnson claims no country has done more to tackle the dirty money problem.
Blackford says he raised this problem five years ago. Nothing was done. He says Russians willing to offer “golden handshakes” got a warm reception. Some of this money went to the Conserative party. He quotes from the recent US thinktank report (see 10.04am) saying donations to the Tory party are discouraging the government from acting on this.
Johnson says he wants to clarify the situation
We do not raise money from Russian oligarchs. We raise money from people who are registered to vote on the UK register of interests.
And he criticises Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, for taking money from RT.
Starmer says the government should make it clear the UK can no longer be a home for the “loot” of Russian oligarchs.
Johnson claims no one has done more to address the problem. The UK was the first to call out what was happening in Ukraine, he claims. He says the UK is working in lockstep with its allies. Democracy is at stake, he says. He says it is vital the Commons sticks together on this. He says he is grateful for the opposition’s broad support.
Starmer says Labour will back an economic crime bill in this session of parliament.
He calls for legislation to tighten the rules stopping foreign money coming into politics.
Johnson says the biggest foreign donations recently went to a Labour MP getting money from a member of the Chinese Communist party.
Starmer welcomes the review of the RT licence.
Johnson says economic sanctions will be more effective if taken in tandem with other countries.
And he says the economic crime bill will come forward in the next session of parliament.
Government has asked Ofcom to review Kremlin-backed RT's broadcasting licence, Johnson says
Starmer says RT is Putin’s progaganda vehicle. Will the government ask Ofcom to review its licence?
Johnson says the secretary of state has already asked Ofcom to review its licence.
But he says the UK has a culture of free speech.
Updated
Starmer says the package announced yesterday may have been misunderstood. If he goes further, Labour will support him. Will he do so?
Johnson says under the measures already approved any Russian entity and any Russian entity can be targeted. And members of the Duma can be targeted too, he says.
(Johnson is referring to the legislating enabling sanctions to be imposed - not the actual sanctions announced yesterday.)
Johnson claims UK 'out in front' in terms of imposing sanctions on Russia
Keir Starmer says we all want to deter aggression in Europe. A sovereign country has been invaded. The PM said he would unleash a full package of santions following an invasion. “If not now, when?”
Johnson says people do not realise that the UK is “out in front” in terms of sanctions. He says 275 people are subject to sanctions. (Only three of those were added to sanctions lists yesterday.) And he says bank assets have been frozen. And there is more to come, he says.
Johnson announces UK supplying further arms to Ukraine
Boris Johnson starts by saying that, in light of the “increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia”, he can announce that the UK will soon be providing a further package of military support to Ukraine, including lethal aid and non-lethal aid.
In light of the increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia, and in line with our previous support, the UK will shortly be providing a further package of military support to Ukraine. This will include lethal aid in the form of defensive weapons and non-lethal aid.
Updated
From Sky’s Joe Pike
Cabinet ministers sharing a tube of polos on the front bench ahead of #PMQs.
— Joe Pike (@joepike) February 23, 2022
Starmer expected to focus on Ukraine, sanctions and Russian dirty money.
PMQs is starting soon.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP, has told BBC News that the sanctions against Russia announced yesterday did not go far enough. “I wanted us to go further,” she said.
I wanted us to lay out very clearly that there would be serious repurcussions. I felt that we needed to blacklist all Russian state banks, all Russian banks in fact. I want us to ban the City from servicing any Russian state companies, and that includes the accountants and the lawyers. I wanted a far broader sanctions regime, and it does sound like that’s going to be coming forward, so I really welcome the fact that, clearly overnight, we’ve seen from the government a plan to ratchet this up.
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At the Treasury committee this morning Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, who recently urged workers to show restraint when asking for pay rises because of the risk of inflation, faced awkward questions from Labour’s Angela Eagle about his own salary. These are from Reuters’ Andy Bruce.
Ouch - exchange with between @angelaeagle and Andrew Bailey on his salary vs the average wage of a care worker. pic.twitter.com/eojOTBFmgW
— Andy Bruce (@BruceReuters) February 23, 2022
I'm not sure there are a huge number of working people out there who would similarly struggle to recall their salary to the nearest £10k... 🤔
— Andy Bruce (@BruceReuters) February 23, 2022
Julia Kollewe has more coverage of the hearing on the business live blog.
Labour has said the Conservatives should return the £2m in donations that they have received from people with links to Russia since Boris Johnson became PM. (See 9.32am.) The Lib Dems say the money should go to the people of Ukraine instead. In a statement Layla Moran, the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said:
Boris Johnson should use the almost £2m of Russian-linked donations received by the Conservative Party to support the people of Ukraine. This would send a powerful signal to Putin that the Conservatives are serious about no longer allowing themselves to be bankrolled by Russian money. It would also provide vital support to Ukrainians on the ground facing the threat of invasion and a sustained campaign of Russian disinformation.
Redfield and Wilton Strategies, a polling company, has released some polling showing the government’s approval ratings on a range of policy issues falling since earlier this month.
No policy area sees net approval for the Gov't.
— Redfield & Wilton Strategies (@RedfieldWilton) February 23, 2022
UK Gov't Policy Net Approval Ratings (21 Feb):
Coronavirus Pandemic: -5% (-9)
Foreign Policy: -13% (-6)
Economy: -15% (-6)
Environment: -17% (-2)
NHS: -24% (-3)
Immigration: -28% (+1)
Housing: -31% (-5)
Changes +/- 14 Feb pic.twitter.com/O1DJenRwN7
According to the Commons order paper, Boris Johnson is going to issue a written statement today containing a formal clarification. This is expected to be an admisssion that he was wrong to tell MPs yesterday that Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner, has been subject to sanctions.
Ministers do from time to time issue written clarifications if they have inadvertently misled the Commons. But, despite having a record of saying false things in the chamber almost weekly, Johnson very rarely corrects the record. He has not issued a written clarification of his comment implying Keir Starmer was to blame for the CPS not prosecuting Jimmy Savile, though he did clarify what he meant in an interview.
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Putin's plans 'do not stop at Ukraine', says Truss
Here are the main points from Liz Truss’s morning interview round.
- Truss, the foreign secretary, said that Vladimir Putin’s plans “do not stop at Ukraine”. She said:
It is important that we strengthen the eastern flank of Nato countries, that we support the Baltic states, that we support other Nato members to make sure their defences are fully protected, because Putin’s plans do not stop at Ukraine. That is why it’s important that we see strong Ukrainian resistance, and it’s also why it’s important that we strengthen Nato’s forces.
- She said Britain wanted to use sanctions to make it “as painful as possible” for Putin if he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4:
I believe that Putin is hell-bent on invading Ukraine.
This is about inflicting pain on Putin and degrading the Russian economic system over time, targeting people that are close to Putin.
What we have to do is make it as painful as possible, both by supplying support to the Ukrainian government in terms of defensive weapons, in terms of economic support, and by imposing economic costs.
- She defended the measures announced by the UK yesterday, which have been widely criticised as too limited, saying it was a “very serious package” that would inflict pain on Russia. She said:
[Yesterday’s sanctions package] targets key oligarchs, we’re clear that sovereign debt will not be able to be raised by the Russian government. It targets key Russian banks that fund the military and fund the activities of the Russian government.
- But she stressed that the government was also planning to escalate sanctions in the event of a full-scale invasion. She said:
We are aligned with our international allies in saying that we will escalate the sanctions, that there will be even more tough sanctions on key oligarchs, on key organisations in Russia, limiting Russia’s access to the financial markets, if there is a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which I’m afraid to say ... we are very much expecting.
This implies that escalation of the sanctions is conditional on Putin intensifying his aggression. But in the Commons yesterday James Cleverly, a Foreign Office minister, said sanctions would be beefed up even if Putin went no further, in the hope of getting him to withdraw.
- She rejected Labour suggestions that the government’s sanctions policy is influenced by donations to the Conservative party from Russia-linked individuals. She said people giving to the party were not Putin cronies. See 9.32am.
- She said the Champions League final should not be held in Russia.
- She said it was up to Ofcom to decide whether or not to ban RT (formerly Russia Today), the Kremlin-backed news channel broadcasting in the UK. Yesterday Keir Starmer said it should be banned. Truss said it was up to Ofcom to decide what to do about RT. She went on:
I think it is certainly true that [it] is spouting propaganda on behalf of the Kremlin. One of the things the Kremlin does is use disinformation to try and sow discord in the west, and Russia Today is clearly part of that. It is an independent decision of Ofcom about licensing broadcasters.
Updated
The allegations in the intelligence and security committee report (see 10am) were echoed in this recent report from the Centre for American Progress, a thinktank close to the Biden administration. It said:
The United Kingdom, in particular, has become a major hub for Russian oligarchs and their wealth, with London gaining the moniker “Londongrad.” Uprooting Kremlin-linked oligarchs will be a challenge given the close ties between Russian money and the United Kingdom’s ruling conservative party, the press, and its real estate and financial industry.
Labour says 'too much connection' between Russian oligarchs and Tory party
In his interview on the Today programme this morning David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, set out a series of concerns about the sanctions package announced by the government yesterday. The measures should have been much more extensive, he argued, and better coordinated with the sanctions being imposed by the other countries. Asked why he thought the government was holding back, Lammy said:
Well, our concerns are, I’m afraid, that there has been too much connection between Russian oligarchs and donations to the Conservative party. We think they should hand back £2m [the donations received from Russian-linked individuals since Boris Johnson became PM]. And. frankly, it’s not clear entirely what’s going on.
Justin Webb, the presenter, told Lammy that he was effectively alleging corruption, in suggesting that donations to the Tory party were influencing policy. “Is that seriously your allegation?”, Webb asked. Lammy replied:
This isn’t just the allegation of the Labour party. This is the allegation of our intelligence committee and the Russia report.
Lammy was referring to this report from parliament’s intelligence and security committee, on Russian interference in British politics, that was published in July 2020 after its release was delayed for many months, without a convincing reason from No 10, amid suspicions Boris Johnson was delaying it because he feared it would be politically embarrassing.
The report did not mention the Conservative party by name, but it clearly referred to donations to the party in a passage saying that Russians with links to the Kremlin have been able to gain excessive influence in the UK. It says:
The UK welcomed Russian money [from the 1990s], and few questions – if any – were asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth. It appears that the UK government at the time held the belief (more perhaps in hope than expectation) that developing links with major Russian companies would promote good governance by encouraging ethical and transparent practices, and the adoption of a law-based commercial environment.
What is now clear is that it was in fact counter-productive, in that it offered ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London ‘laundromat’. The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment – PR firms, charities, political interests, academia and cultural institutions were all willing beneficiaries of Russian money, contributing to a ‘reputation laundering’ process. In brief, Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’, and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration – in ‘Londongrad’ in particular – means that any measures now being taken by the government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation ...
Several members of the Russian elite who are closely linked to Putin are identified as being involved with charitable and/or political organisations in the UK, having donated to political parties, with a public profile which positions them to assist Russian influence operations. It is notable that a number of Members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian state – these relationships should be carefully scrutinised, given the potential for the Russian state to exploit them.
Truss rejects claim that sanctions policy is influenced by Russia-linked donations to Tory party
Good morning. Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, has been doing the morning interview round and she has been defending the package of sanctions against Russian announced by the government yesterday that has been widely dismissed as pusillanimous. “I think we can safely say we have taken a peashooter to a gunfight,” said Tom Keatinge from the the defence thinktank Rusi. Even the Daily Express, which often defends Boris Johnson with an enthusiasm only matched by Nadine Dorries, seems disappointed.
Wednesday’s Express: “Punish Putin harder now” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/QDbnoxmcyE pic.twitter.com/DlTqjdOUmJ
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) February 22, 2022
Truss has been arguing that yesterday’s measures were just a first step and that further sanctions are “in the locker” for use in the event of President Putin escalating his aggression in Ukraine.
But she has also had to respond to renewed claims from Labour that Johnson’s apparent reluctance to penalise Russian oligarchs based on the UK is linked to the almost £2m donated to the Conservative party since Johnson became leader by individuals with links to Russia. David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said this morning that there was “too much connection between Russian oligarchs and donations to the Conservative party” and that the £2m should be returned.
In response, Truss dismissed claims that there was a link between the donations and sanctions policy, saying that the Russians giving to the party were not Putin cronies. She told Sky News:
All of donations to the Conservative party are from people on the electoral register in Britain, those donations are properly declared.
What we’re talking about here ... is people, the oligarchs that we’re targeting in today’s sanctions, those are people closely linked to Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Now, there are many people who have moved to Russia from Britain who are not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin and who have become British citizens. That is a completely different matter from people who are close to Vladimir Putin who are backing his appalling regime.
. @KayBurley “The Tory party has received £2m in Russian linked cash since the PM took office..you’re going to keep it?”@trussliz “all of those donations are properly declared”
— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) February 23, 2022
Kay Burley “that’s a yes then” pic.twitter.com/1WwWUyquch
I will post more from the Truss and Lammy interviews shortly.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, gives evidence to the Commons Treasury committee. My colleague Julia Kollewe will be covering this on the business live blog.
10am: Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, gives evidence to the Welsh affairs committee.
12pm: Boris Johnson faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
After 12.45pm: MPs begin a debate on a Labour motion saying the government should do more to stop illicit Russian finance circulating in the UK.
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