Ukraine Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office
Thursday 24th February 2022

(2 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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On the right hon. Gentleman’s point about investment in Russian oil and gas, as I have said, we must move away from all our dependencies on Russian oil and gas, and that is the objective of the UK Government. We are lucky in this country in that only 3% of our gas comes from Russia. Other European countries are in a much more exposed position. On his point about supporting eastern Europeans, as he knows we have doubled the size of our commitment to Estonia. We have gone bigger in Poland, there are another 350 marines from 45 Commando, and we are in the skies above Romania. I do not believe there is another country in NATO that is currently doing more to strengthen NATO’s eastern defences.

Felicity Buchan Portrait Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)
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My constituency has strong historical connections with Ukraine, so I welcome this robust approach. My constituency has also seen significant property investments by Russian investors. May I urge my right hon. Friend to accelerate the introduction of a register of beneficial ownership of property?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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My hon. Friend is completely right that we need to unpeel the façade of these shell companies so that we can see who owns the property concerned.