James MacCleary

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement, and I join others in welcoming him to his new role. May I start by associating myself with colleagues’ remarks in thanking our Royal Marines? Through their bravery and skill, they have denied Vladimir Putin the fossil fuel profits that he depends on—profits which, without their intervention, would have gone straight to Russia’s frontline against Ukraine. Their courageous action has already had a chilling effect on other shadow fleet vessels, with reports suggesting that at least six ships altered course following the interdiction of the Smyrtos. Now that we have taken this step—albeit several months after the Prime Minister initially promised—will the Secretary of State commit to stopping more shadow fleet vessels and ensure that this is not just a one-off? The Liberal Democrats believe that we should not just be stopping these vessels but ensuring that the seizure of their cargo can be used to fund Ukraine’s defence. We have already called for the £30 billion of frozen Russian assets across Britain to be used to support Kyiv’s war effort. We need to do the same with shadow fleet fuel. Will the Secretary of State commit to seizing and selling the sanctioned oil transported by the Smyrtos and selling the resulting funds to Ukraine, and will he do the same for any future interdictions? The next critical step must be to close legitimate routes to market for all Russian fossil fuels. Spearheaded by our leader in the other place, Lord Purvis, the Liberal Democrats won an important concession last week on this issue, securing a commitment from the Government to an end-date for their waiver on sanctions for the import of diesel and fuel products refined by Russian crude. This gaping loophole should never have come into force in the first place. The Government must now go further. Will the Secretary of State work with colleagues across Government to ban all UK maritime services for the export of Russian oil, gas and coal? We must end once and for all the scandal of UK plc helping to fund Putin’s war machine.