FOUR Lancashire MPs have been banned from Russia as the nation retaliates against sanctions placed on it following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Federation’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs has published a list of UK Members of Parliament who are banned from entering the country.

It said the bans are in place due to “hostile rhetoric and far-fetched accusations” against Russia following the act of aggression in invading Ukraine, and said the MPs “whipped up Russophobic hysteria” in the UK.

It comes as a reaction to the economic sanctions placed on Russia by the UK, including the freezing of assets of oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich and a ceasing of trading and business with the nation due to Putin’s war against Ukraine.

Included on the list of banned MPs are four Lancashire MPs, along with 283 other MPs from the House of Commons, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Jeremy Hunt and Diane Abbott.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (MP for Wyre and Preston North) have all avoided bans, as have all their Shadow counterparts Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy except Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey, who is banned.

In the statement, Russia said: “In response to the decision of the UK government to include 386 deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the sanctions list, on the basis of reciprocity, Russia imposes personal restrictions on 287 members of the House of Commons of the British Parliament.

“These persons, who are no longer allowed to enter the Russian Federation, took the most active part in the establishment of anti-Russian sanctions instruments in London, and contribute to the groundless whipping up of Russophobic hysteria in the UK.

“The hostile rhetoric and far-fetched accusations coming from the mouths of British parliamentarians not only condone the hostile course of London, aimed at demonizing our country and its international isolation, but are also used by opponents of mutually respectful dialogue with Russia to undermine the foundation of bilateral cooperation.”

The four Lancashire MPs who have been banned from Russia are:

 

  • Sir Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker of the House of Commons) – Chorley (Labour)
  • Jake Berry – Rossendale and Darwen (Conservative)
  • Andrew Stephenson – Pendle (Con)
  • Paul Maynard – Blackpool North (Con)

While the county’s other MPs have avoided sanctions thus far, Russia has warned it will continue to expand its list as long as sanctions exist towards it.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added: “Taking into account London's bet on the consistent strengthening of anti-Russian sanctions, work on retaliatory countermeasures, including the expansion of the Russian ‘stop list’, will continue.”