Badenoch: Easing Russian oil sanctions ‘insane’ as new North Sea drilling blocked
Since the US-Israel war in Iran began, jet fuel and petrol prices have steadily increased.
Watering down sanctions on Russian oil is “insane” when the UK government is refusing to fully exploit North Sea resources, Kemi Badenoch said.
The Conservative leaders hit out after sanctions were eased, allowing for the import of jet fuel and diesel refined in third countries amid surging costs due to the Iran war.
A trade licence, which came into effect on Wednesday, permits the imports “indefinitely”.
The sanctions were imposed as part of the package of measures targeting Vladimir Putin’s economy after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mrs Badenoch said on social media: “After 18 months of ‘standing up to Putin’ the Labour govt quietly issued a licence allowing imports of Russian oil refined in third countries.
“Yesterday Labour MPs voted AGAINST UK oil and gas licences. We are now importing from Russia instead of drilling in the North Sea.”
SNP MPS abstained from the vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday night.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, causing global supply concerns.
European jet fuel has more than doubled since the war started. According to the RAC, the average price of unleaded petrol reached 158.52p a litre on Monday, which is the highest since the start of the war.
Ever since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK has placed economic sanctions on Russia. On Tuesday it signed a G7 statement reaffirming its “unwavering commitment" to imposing “severe costs” on Russia, and in October it said it planned to ban oil products refined from Russian crude oil.
While the UK Government says overall sanctions have got tougher, extra flexibilities are needed because of supply concerns.
UK Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson said this small and specific” and “time-limited” change was to “protect the security of supply for really important foundational goods in our economy such as jet fuel”.
He said while the government remains “steadfast in its commitment to supporting Ukraine”, it had to “make the right and sensible decisions” on vital products and on helping to ease the cost-of-living crisis.
A UK Government spokesperson said it had “introduced a new wave of tighter restrictions on Russia including further export and import bans against Russia” including “restrictions on the sale of refined oil products derived from Russian crude oil and the import, supply and delivery to third countries of Russian uranium”.
They added: “The sanctions also include a new maritime services ban on Russian liquified natural gas which will progressively restrict Russia’s access to the UK’s world-leading shipping and insurance services, disrupting their ability to transport Russian liquefied natural gas.
“Our support for Ukraine is unwavering - these additional sanctions with further restrict Russian revenues and degrade its ability to wage Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.”
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
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