Government Policy on Russia

Toby Perkins Excerpts
Tuesday 6th March 2018

(6 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Members from all sides of the House should think long and hard before they appear on Russia Today, which is clearly a vehicle for Kremlin propaganda.

Toby Perkins Portrait Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
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The Foreign Secretary, like many other people, has spoken powerfully about the extent to which Russia—while not at war with us—can be seen only as an enemy of the best interests of the United Kingdom. On that basis, is it not time to review whether we should continue to sit on the UN Security Council and have Russia in a position where it is able to decide whether the actions that we take with our military are lawful?

Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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If things turn out as many Members on both sides of the House suspect they will—to return to that formula—we will have to have a serious conversation about our engagement with Russia. Thinking ahead to the World Cup this summer, it is very difficult to imagine how UK representation at that event could go ahead in the normal way, and we will certainly have to consider that.