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New Statesman
3 days ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Britain's gift to Putin
Photo byOn Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russia has now used more than 27,000 aerial bombs, more than 11,000 armed drones and thousands more guided munitions to attack Ukraine. Among the victims of this week's attacks were an emergency worker, his wife and their one-year-old grandson, the 632nd child killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion. And yet British businesses continue to enable the Russian state to secure its main source of income: revenue from oil and gas. New research shared exclusively with the New Statesman has found that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, more than £200bn in Russian fossil fuel exports have been shipped using UK-based maritime services. A single UK-based firm has carried almost a quarter of Russia's exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) since the war began. While our government seeks to increase its defence budget, Britain's active role in the Russian fossil fuel trade helps to maintain the military spending of a nuclear power currently at war with a close European ally. The study, which has been conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), finds that the value of Russian crude oil, oil products and LNG shipped under British ownership or insurance since the war began has now reached £205.8bn. Three quarters of Russian LNG carriers were covered by UK insurance. Britain officially stopped importing Russian oil and oil products nine months after the invasion (it became illegal to do so on 5 December 2022). But a sanctions loophole means Britain keeps buying Putin's products: Russian crude is shipped to refineries in Turkey and India and then returns as oil products. CREA estimates that the UK has indirectly bought £1.4bn in Russian oil through this loophole, providing more than half a billion pounds' worth of revenue to the Kremlin. Much of the jet fuel taking British holidaymakers to sunnier climes this summer will have entered the supply chain in the oilfields of Siberia. Europe continues to buy Russian LNG directly, and in 2024 imported more LNG from Russia than ever before. Much of this is shipped, entirely legally, by a single British company: Seapeak, which is headquartered in Glasgow and which owns seven specialist LNG carriers, which can power through ice two metres thick. This is not subject to a ban and there is no suggestion that Seapeak has broken any laws. Seapeak was mentioned in an Early Day Motion on Russian LNG, which was signed by 34 cross-party MPs in January. CREA says that Seapeak alone has carried Russian LNG worth £13bn since the war began. Elsewhere, Russian fossil fuels are also shipped by a 'dark fleet' of uninsured vessels, whose ownership is obscured. As previously reported, these ships pass in sight of our shores on an almost daily basis as they sail through the English Channel. Since Labour came to power, the UK government has taken a more determined stance towards sanctioning these ships and those who enable their sale, including an accountant who allegedly arranged for the sale of vessels. A government spokesperson told the New Statesman: 'We are working with G7 and EU partners to eliminate remaining dependencies on Russian energy as soon as possible. We will not hesitate to take further action to increase economic pressure on Putin.' Why can't we stop paying Putin immediately? In a word: inflation. If Western countries entirely quit the Russian oil and gas habit, the wholesale price of energy would spike in a similar manner to 2022, bringing the price of almost everything else with it. The last inflationary surge cost the UK government £67bn in a single year in additional spending in support for consumers and businesses, and the population still endured a historic rise in the cost of living accompanied by strikes across the public sector. No government is going to impose that upon its voters, and even if it did, it wouldn't last long. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe This doesn't mean there is nothing the UK can do. Energy analysts say it is a question of supply: when the oil and gas market has enough capacity to make a sudden drop in Russian fossil fuels less important, sanctions can be imposed and enforced. The pragmatic answer is probably then to secure LNG and crude from other countries. The most realistic answer to this problem therefore comes from productive diplomacy with the US for LNG, and Saudi Arabia and others for oil. In the long term, of course, it means not relying on fossil fuels, because we don't have enough to power our country. Amid all the talk of how much we're going to spend on our military, it's important we also try to avoid paying for our enemy's. [See also: Revealed: how the City of London keeps Putin's oil flowing] Related
Spectator
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Of course Trump should be allowed to address Parliament
Labour MPs have been busy this week. No, not running the country – but voicing their opposition to Donald Trump's state visit. Diane Abbott, Nadia Whittome and Clive Lewis are among 17 parliamentarians campaigning to ensure the US President isn't allowed to address the Houses of Parliament. Their Early Day Motion rehearses various criticisms of the President – 'misogynism, racism and xenophobia' and his treatment of Ukraine – and says it would be 'inappropriate' for Trump to be given the honour when he comes to the UK in September. This legislative stunt is unlikely to trouble Trump. The Early Day Motion (EDM) in itself is meaningless. It is a device for MPs to give vent to their feelings but, although it is formally a motion to put to the House of Commons, it will never be debated because EDMs never reach that stage.
