Labor has vowed to “close the gaps” in existing measures to stop Russian election interference and counter the flow of “dirty money” into London.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy is concerned that although the UK has led sanctions against Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, they are still not being implemented as effectively as possible. he said.
“What is at stake now is the enforcement of these sanctions, and if we are to have the privilege of discharging that mandate, we must ensure that appropriate coordination is in place at both the Foreign Office and the Treasury. I’m going to look at this area more carefully to make sure,” he told the BBC’s “Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg” program.
When asked whether this meant that not enough was being done at the moment, Lamy replied: The work of our special committee has not been fully implemented.
“Yes, I think there are gaps. If we are successful, we will close those gaps when the general election is held.”
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Mr Lamy made the remarks as he attended the Munich Security Conference with Sir Keir Starmer, believed to be the first Labor leader to attend the conference since the last time it was in power in 2010. .
With a general election scheduled for 2024 and Chancellor Rishi Sunak continuing to lag in opinion polls, the pair have met with world leaders and foreign ministers, presenting themselves as part of a government-in-waiting. It seems there is.
Their comments about Russian aggression are particularly timely following the mysterious death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony.
Watch: David Lammy says he’s concerned about London’s ‘dirty money’ despite Russia sanctions
Prison officials are said to have told Navalny’s mother that he died of “sudden death syndrome,” but many Western leaders and other allies have blamed Putin.
At the conference, Starmer reiterated Britain’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia and attacked US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s “malicious” criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.
London has become the “Laundromat of the World”
Mr Lammy told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips Sunday programme: “Of course it’s important to counter Russian aggression abroad and in central Europe, but it’s also very important to counter Russian aggression at home.” .
“We have been calling on the government for many months to implement the Russia report from our intelligence select committee. There are 250,000 properties owned by corporations and they have not addressed this issue.Computer Misuse Act, why?
“They amended the electoral law to allow unlimited donations to political parties. This is difficult to understand. They received donations worth around £5m from Russia-linked donors. It should be returned.”
“We’ve been saying we have to deal with the dirty money circulating in London – London is becoming the laundromat of the world – and, embarrassingly, Mr. [Joe] Mr. Biden expressed concern that the government’s refusal to address the dirty money problem is undermining the sanctions regime we need. ”
Yahoo News has contacted the Conservative Party for comment.
What did the British report on Russian interference say?
In a report published in July 2020, the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) warned that the UK government had “grossly underestimated” the Russian threat and was playing “catch-up”.
He claimed that his responsibility to protect Britain’s democratic processes from interference was being treated like a “hot potato” by Britain’s intelligence services, and accused government agencies of “taking their eye off the ball”.
The cross-party committee said there were many Russians who had “very close ties” to President Vladimir Putin and were “well integrated into British business and social circles”, adding: He warned that “opening up and welcoming people” was “counterproductive”. This led to “illegal finance” flowing throughout London.
Members argued that the 2006 killing of Alexander Litvinenko in London showed that Russia had moved from “a potential partner to an established threat” under Putin. The report said Russia is motivated by a desire to be seen as a “resurgent great power” and “appears to be paranoid” in its relations with institutions such as NATO and the European Union. explained.
This particular point seems all the more important today, given that President Putin claims that NATO expansion and Western efforts to weaken his country are responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. .