Midlothian MP, Owen Thompson, questions the UK Government in allowing sanctioned Russian war criminals to target a British journalist.
During Wednesday’s Jan 2023) Urgent Question session on the Wagner Group, Mr Thompson questioned the UK Government as to how it was possible that founder of this group – a private army that for years has been accused of human rights abuses and war crimes in Ukraine and across the world in support of Putin’s regime – and sanctioned Russian billionaire and war criminal Yevgeny Prigozhin, was granted a “special licence” to pursue legal action against a British journalist.
This announcement followed recent reports that a cache of hacked emails and documents from one of Russia’s biggest law firms had been discovered, laying bare the grim details of the involvement of the UK Treasury under the leadership of our current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak whilst he was Chancellor, in granting this licence to the sanctioned Russian oligarch mercenary.
Thompson said “Just what is it about billionaire Russians like Yevgeny Prigozhin that prompts the UK Government to grant “special licences” to dodge sanctions. Once again, these revelations highlight the serious and systemic links between the UK Government and Russian political elites linked to Kremlin war crimes.”
“The EU and UK imposed sanctions upon Yevgeny Prigozhin for this very reason. The fact that, under the current Prime Minister’s watch, when he was Chancellor, the Treasury chose to override their own Government’s sanctions to aid Prigozhin’s legal case against a journalist raises serious national and international security concerns.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
