TORY PM Boris Johnson and Labour leader Keir Starmer came together yesterday in their sanctions attack on Russia – the only disagreement being that Starmer said the sanctions do not go far enough!
The SNP speaker Ian Blackford also pledged the Scottish Nationalists’ support and said how important it was for ‘everyone in this House to stand together’.
Johnson went further than ever in thanking the Labour leader and the Scottish Nationalists for backing the sanctions in a united front against Russia.
He said: ‘Now the UK and our allies will begin to impose the sanctions on Russia that we have already prepared.
‘We are using the new and unprecedented powers granted by this House to sanction Russian individuals and entities of strategic importance to the Kremlin.’
Johnson announced sanctions against five Russian banks: Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvy-azbank and the Black Sea Bank.
He also sanctioned three ‘high net worth’ individuals: Gennadiy Timchenko, and Boris and Igor Rotenberg.
‘Any assets they hold in the UK will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be banned from travelling here and we will prohibit all UK individuals and entities from having any dealings with them,’ Johnson said.
‘This the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed.’
MPs cheered when Johnson declared: ‘The resolve of the UK to defend our Nato allies is absolute and immovable.’
He added: ‘We cannot tell what will happen in the days ahead but we should steel ourselves for a protracted crisis. The UK will meet this challenge side by side with our allies.
‘It is precisely because the stakes are so high that Putin’s venture in Ukraine must fail and must be seen to fail.’
Johnson ended his statement saying: ‘Whatever happens Britain will not waver in its resolve.’
Labour leader Starmer rose to support the Tory PM: ‘We must remain united and true to our values across this House and with our NATO allies. We must show Putin that we will not be divided.
‘I welcome the sanctions introduced today and the international community’s efforts to unite with a collective response.
‘However we must be prepared to go further.
‘I understand the tactic of holding back some sanctions against Putin and his cronies to try to deter an invasion of the rest of Ukraine, but the threshold has already been breached.
‘A sovereign nation has already been invaded in a war of aggression based on lies and fabrication.
‘If we do not respond with full sanctions now, Putin will once again take away the message that the benefits of aggression outweigh the costs.
‘So we will work with the Prime Minister and our international allies to ensure that more sanctions are introduced.
‘Russia should be excluded from financial mechanisms like Swift and we should ban trading in Russian sovereign debt. Putin’s campaign of misinformation should be tackled.
‘Russia Today should be prevented from broadcasting its propaganda around the world and we should work with our European allies to ensure that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is cancelled.’
Starmer concluded: ‘We must stand ready with more military support for Ukraine to defend itself.
‘We must stay united and I offer the support of the opposition.’
Johnson thanked Starmer ‘for the support he has given,’ adding to boos from the Tories: ‘If I may say so that will be noted. And the change in the approach taken by the opposition over the last couple of years is massively beneficial.’