Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury during the Urgent Question on Wagner Group: Sanctions Regime on 25 January 2023, Official Report, column 1013, what recent estimate he has made of when the internal review of how sanctioned individuals seeking waivers from the Treasury to undertake court cases against journalists in the UK will report.

HM Treasury regularly reviews its policies and processes. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to the licensing of legal expenses. There are currently no plans to publish a report on this matter, but we will update Parliament appropriately in due course.