The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2024 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Development
Calum Miller
Main Page: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)Department Debates - View all Calum Miller's debates with the Department for International Development
The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2024
Calum Miller Excerpts(2 days, 9 hours ago)
General CommitteesRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank the Minister for his presentation. The Liberal Democrats strongly support a robust sanctions regime against Russia to counter the illegal invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, we would support the Government were they to go further with actions in the area, specifically by starting to seize Russian assets in the UK so that they can be redirected towards Ukraine—even if our allies may waver in the implementation of that internationally agreed approach.
We support the proposals today and a set of regulations that are effective and allow British professional services firms to compete fairly on the international stage. However, I would welcome reassurance from the Minister regarding the fact that all legal advice of the type that can aid the compliance of UK and other firms can also aid them in navigating a system. Can the Minister provide assurance that the effect of the regulations will be to aid compliance with the regime and stop resources flowing to and from Russia, and not to enable clients to navigate the system to evade the sanctions regime, when it is so important for our policies towards Russia?