Sir David Davis says UK must be ready for Russia to retaliate against sanctions

As published in The Yorkshire Post:

The Economic Crime Bill, which will make it easier for Britain to crack down on “hidden dirty money” in the UK, was rushed to Parliament this afternoon, as the west races to tighten the restrictions against Vladimir Putin following the incursion.

Haltemprice and Howden MP David Davis said that the legislation could “hit the least well off” domestically and we “need to be ready” for price increases.

Addressing the Commons, Mr Davis said the measures “will do great harm to the Russian economy, it will do great harm to our adversaries in Russia, but it will also do some harm to us.

“Or at least the retaliation will do some harm to us.

“Particularly it will hit the least well-off, so we’ll see greater price inflation, we’ll see less growth, less trade and therefore less jobs and we must recognise that, when we undertake what we’re doing here.

“We can make Russia a pariah state, but Putin will retaliate and we must be ready.

“We need to be ready for fuel crises, the cyber attacks and for the ludicrous threats from the Kremlin.

“This Bill should be targeting the Russian government and Putin and his henchmen themselves, that’s why the actions against the oligarchs in this Bill are just as important as the actions against the Russian banks and commercial institutions.

“We should not kid ourselves, this is not an economic crime bill, it’s an economic warfare bill and it’s a war the liberal democracies cannot afford to lose.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel praised the legislation for allowing “greater power and information to identify and investigate the illicit wealth of Russian criminals, their allies and their proxies.”

She told Commons colleagues: “Oligarchs could be slapped with an unexplained wealth order, just one of the tools that we will have at our disposal.

“The Treasury will be better able to act when financial sanctions are breached. We’re implementing the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia or on any major economy.”