Explainer-in-brief: Russia’s sanctions a ‘badge of honour’ on 287 MPs
Russia returned the favour yesterday, sanctioning 287 MPs for playing a key role in implementing sanctions against the Kremlin and for fuelling what Putin’s foreign ministry defines as “Russophobic hysteria”.
Back in March, the Foreign Office had imposed 386 sanctions on members of the Russian Duma. Boris Johnson, foreign secretary Liz Truss and defence secretary Ben Wallace had already been sanctioned by Russia, but now the list has extensively expanded to include 213 Conservative MPs and 74 Labour MPs.
Johnson has said that those on the blacklist should see it as “a badge of honour”. The 386 Duma members have had their British bank accounts frozen, and they can’t access the UK – by the same token, the British MPs won’t be able to enter the Russian Federation.
Some of the sanctioned MPs share the prime minister’s sentiment. Former minister Mark Harper, for instance, claimed he was “proud to be on the list”.