argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to be called at this particular point, Madam Deputy Speaker. So that I do not end up repeating them, I first associate myself completely with the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat) We can do, we should do and we must do more to root out the dirty money that flows through there. That is not to blame us—in some senses it goes through New York as well—but we should collectively ensure that we target those people. I am told that Putin has squirrelled away more than $250 billion around the world through his oligarchs; they are not actually wealthy individuals, but only nominally wealthy, because it is his money, which he has stolen from the Russian state. We should seek that out and nail it down, collectively, as nations in the free world I say to my right hon. Friend the Minister that I appreciate the difficulty the Government are in over this matter. The Government want to play their hand carefully, and I understand that; they want to deliver such that President Putin and co. have to pull back. The question, therefore, is not whether the Government are right to want to do that—we support them in wanting to do so—but whether the means that the Government have willed to themselves are enough I also speak as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Magnitsky sanctions, with the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant). We have already listed names, and I genuinely and carefully question why my Government had not done more to sanction people already, long before this final crisis erupted—people in Russia, China, the United States and around the world who are clearly identifiable as in need of being sanctioned under the Magnitsky rules that we passed. I am ready to give the Government a list, and I know he feels exactly the same. He probably has it there.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): My worry is very much that they know exactly what they are doing, because they know exactly what we will do and they have already prepared the ground for this. They probably think to themselves, "We’ll do a certain amount and then we’ll discuss an awful lot more about what else we might do," and then at some point a couple of countries will break ranks, go back to Putin and say, "Let’s work out a deal." After all, the Minsk deal was a terrible deal because it forced on Ukraine the loss of its own territory, not necessarily in perpetuity but saying, "Don’t fuss about this any longer because we just want peace." Peace at any price is not peace. Ukraine now faces an extended conflict and we see what is happening. A bad deal is a bad deal, and it leads to further pressure. That is what is happening I really do believe that the Government have to take this many notches further and hit the Russians very hard—yes, with the cleaning out of some of the Augean stables in the financial services area, but we also need to go on to grander, more supranational sanctions, working with our allies absolutely to cut off supplies of money, such that the Russians and President Putin cannot find a way through this and they feel the pain. When we hit them with these sanctions we must hear them squeal, not see them smile quietly and say, "They won’t get any further." Let us do that earlier, now In conclusion, and returning to a point I made earlier, I genuinely believe that the free world has been half asleep on the watch. We thought that democracy was triumphant. We thought that there was no way, in coalition with the free markets, that the rest of the world would not turn to democracy automatically and embrace it, and we would have a fair and reasonable place. We failed to realise that the idea of totalitarianism—of brutality and oppression—exists and will go on existing. Unless we fight them wherever they exist, they will rise again. In China now, they practise slave labour, they have genocide, and they persecute people and lock them up. They absolutely dominate the citizens of that country. In Russia they are doing the same, as in Belarus, Iran and many other countries that the hon. Member for Rhondda and I have discussed in the APPG. They are on the move. This axis of totalitarianism supports itself across the board. If we do not act on Putin now and with firmness, then in China they will look at Taiwan and say, "They’ll never do anything; it’s even further away." Then there is Iran and the nuclear weapons, and Belarus looking across at Poland. We must move hard, we must move now, and we must make them squeal. If we do not do that, then we will have failed.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant). It is quite clear that deterrence has failed and he is right to say that we have been naive. I make no criticism of the Minister, but I do criticise the policy over the past 10 or 15 years. This is too little, too late. In 2007 Putin stood up at the Munich conference—this year’s has only just finished—and said that he no longer recognised the post-war settlement. That was very clear. The same year, he tore up Georgia, and five years later Ukraine. It has been clear for many years that he seeks to dismember Ukraine, shatter the unity of the west and build a new sphere of influence, encompassing the former Soviet Union, including Moldova and potentially the Baltic republics, and that he wishes to ensure that in the eyes of the Russian people, the west is an existential enemy: a physical enemy, but also an enemy in its values Again, I make no criticism of the Minister, whom I hold in very high regard—but doing everything in our control? No. Ratcheting up the pressure? Not really. Rising to the moment? I am sorry, but please. Last week, ITV’s "Peston" show explained that £1.5 billion of property in the UK has been bought by Russians accused of corruption or with Kremlin links, and nearly 30% of that is in Westminster. The Russians certainly have a sense of irony. There are 2,100 UK-registered companies involved in Russian laundering and corruption cases, involving a staggering £82 billion My central point is that I keep being told that Whitehall now understands the hybrid threats. I am sorry, but I do not buy that. I strongly believe that our leaders need much better to understand the Kremlin’s complex hybrid conflict, which spans politics, economics, propaganda, military force, espionage, culture and religion. In Ukraine now, the frontline is the border. In Germany, the frontline is the gas pipelines. In this country, the frontline flows, like the Thames, along to the City of London. It was great to see the Home Secretary announcing the end of the golden visa scheme, but come on—that horse bolted a long time ago These sanctions are good, but there needs to be a willingness to use them. Will the Minister tell us how many unexplained wealth orders have been used on Putin’s allies in the UK? The answer is zero. Building on everything that has been said today by the hon. Member for Rhondda and so many others, the Prime Minister has promised an economic crimes Bill. I am going to be a bit repetitive here, because it needs to be said again and again: where is the economic crimes Bill? Where is the reform to beneficial interests—true ownership for offshore properties? For heaven’s sake, is it really in our national interest to have tens of thousands of properties used and owned by offshore shell trusts, hiding organised crime or the world’s kleptocrats? If the Government understand hybrid conflict, what are they doing to deal with this threat?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The virtue of speaking late in the debate is that I can keep my remarks mercifully short I would like to associate myself with the many excellent and eloquent speeches we have heard, most of which I agree with almost entirely. Today is a sad day—a sad day most of all for the brave people of Ukraine, whose sovereignty is threatened and whose democracy and freedom are undermined. It is a sad day for the order we have known since the 1990s, which many right hon. and hon. Members have spoken of, which now seems shattered, damaged and diminished. It is also a sad day for the people of Russia. I am pleased to associate myself with the remarks of the many right hon. and hon. Members across the House who have said that we wish no ill on them and that we are sad to see the state of their country now. Twenty years ago, I lived and worked in Russia as a lawyer. Back then, Russia was by no means a democracy of the kind that we would recognise, but it was a more hopeful place than the Russia that we see today. It was a country in which one could do business and travel and in which young people were broadly optimistic about the future. After listening to President Putin’s remarks last night, I think we see a very different country, drifting darkly into authoritarianism I want to speak about two points and to reiterate those that Members across the House have made. The first is about understanding exactly what the Government’s strategy is today. The Prime Minister spoke of a ratchet. If we are going to take action, we should take action hard now. That is what a dictator such as Putin can understand. Deterrence by way of sanctions thus far has failed. It is probably likely to fail. It does have value, however: it shows resolve and inflicts cost on Russia. If we are going to do that, why would we not do it strongly now I do not understand why we would suggest that we will introduce the other measures that the Government are considering only in the event that Russia makes further incursions into Ukraine or makes further serious, egregious assaults on Ukraine or other allies in the region—[Interruption.] My right hon. Friend the Minister shakes his head. If, as I understand it, the Government will introduce those measures in the hours and days to come, perhaps because they require further thought or legislation or because we want to act in concert with our allies—for example, to make sure that the sanctions are synced exactly with those that the United States might bring forward—that is an entirely sensible and defensible policy.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert James Buckland (Conservative, Centre-right): I am listening with great care to my right hon. Friend’s important contribution. Does he agree that we could go even further and, with international action, impose positive obligations on Russia to withdraw from the regions in question, stating that, otherwise, further sanctions would follow? Would that not seize back the initiative in a positive way rather than passively waiting for things to happen?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): My real worry is that Putin has actually been very clever: he has advanced into an area that his forces effectively control already and he will stop there. That would divide our allies—for example, Hungary and Germany may not agree—and we would not be able to get sanctions agreed internationally. That is the real worry and why he is not perhaps as mad as we think. He is actually doing this with purpose and he has a plan.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes a good point. If the scenario that plays out is the first of the ones that I described, there will be little opportunity to introduce further sanctions, because this may be all that Putin intends to do. I want to make a last point on the specifics of the package that was announced, and I am afraid that I will repeat the comments of right hon. and hon. Members across the House. The banks that have been chosen are relatively minor. I worked as a corporate lawyer, including in Russia, and these are not the primary banks that international institutions, major corporations or the major oligarchs go to to seek finance, so the impact will be relatively limited. I have not seen the latest debates from the United States, but when I last looked at them, our colleagues and friends in the US Senate, for example, were looking at pursuing some of the larger banks such as SberBank. If we were going to make any impact, it would be important to bring forward measures against one, two or more of the larger banks, which are genuinely those that major institutions and the oligarchs whose names have been mentioned in this House today are more likely to use for finance Secondly, the list of individuals is very small, and the lion’s share of them have already been sanctioned for a long time by the United States. There are many others we could reach. In my work as a lawyer and in business, as managing director of Christie’s, I had the pleasure—if we can call it that—of meeting a number of the individuals who have been described today as oligarchs. Those individuals are not on the list. There is a much larger group of individuals we could and should now be reaching, and we could tackle them in a range of ways. In many respects, what they most fear is losing the ability to travel—to leave Russia and go skiing in France or Switzerland or shopping in London or Paris. It does not have to be a full sanction, but the list that we are currently considering is far too small If we were sitting in the same room as the Russian leadership today, I think we would see a very nonplussed reaction. There is more we can and should do. I hope that further measures will be brought forward in the coming days; I certainly stand ready, as I think all colleagues across the House do, to support them.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Putin may well have won, because we have not reacted hard enough. Small banks have been sanctioned, but we have not put in place real sanctions. So he will be sitting in Moscow tonight thinking, "I’ve just got to sit this one out and I will be able to play up the gains we have got extremely well to the Russian people." We are really on dangerous ground by our weakness.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): That is certainly how it looks to me at this point in time, so it is important that we now move very quickly to take the further measures we have discussed today on the Floor of the House There is, of course, a wider context around this debate. Many Members on the Government and Opposition Benches have been calling for an economic crime Bill and talking about the failure to prevent economic crime. It is vital to make sure that measures such as sanctions are not subverted—that our banks follow the rules, basically. That would apply a lot of pressure on banks to make sure that sanctions are properly imposed. I have previously mentioned whistleblowers, the proper resourcing of our crime agencies, and the need to change the rules on unexplained wealth orders so that we can take wealth very quickly from people we identify I have outlined some more long-term measures that it will take some time to implement, but we could move very quickly with a register of overseas entities. We have previously had draft legislation—Members have mentioned being on the scrutiny Committees—so we could move really quickly. As has been mentioned, £1.5 billion-worth of property in the UK is owned by Russians who are connected to crime and corruption. Some 50% of that is registered in overseas territories and Crown dependencies, the public registers of which are not supposed to go live until 2023. The reform of Companies House would serve as a check and balance, and the move from register to regulator would mean we could properly establish the identities of directors and shareholders All those things I have mentioned could and should be done very quickly. That would have a meaningful effect on people connected to the Russian state. We need to act very quickly—we need action this day.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman, my good friend. As I know, having spent a lot of time working in NATO, the problem is that NATO requires unanimity for any action. There are 30 members, and one of them is Hungary, which has already said it supports Putin. That will hamstring any action whatsoever.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): No The House may be surprised to hear that I have taken a huge amount of positivity from the exchanges today, because this House has once again spoken with such a commanding, concerted and collaborative voice in support of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and in support of the Ukrainian people. More than that, this House has demanded of the Government that we go further with our sanctions—that they are harder and inflict greater economic pain on the individuals and entities in the Russian system who have done so much damage not just to the Russian people, but now also to the Ukrainian people. I am happy that is the tone of the House because I can confidently inform the House that it is demanding something of the Government that the Government are absolutely determined to do. It is pushing at an open door A number of questions have come up repeatedly, so I will address them.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): Right honourable. Exactly. It is appropriate to say that; apologies. The right hon. Member for North Durham made a point about what this framework enables us to do. This is the point we are making: this is legislation that enables us to apply sanctions very widely indeed and we will always do so in the way we believe to be most effective: that is, hand in hand with our friends and allies. We will repeat the message that the people of Ukraine have suffered enough. The aggression and intimidation must end. This will form part of our response to Vladimir Putin’s aggression. We will work towards a time when the people of Ukraine no longer live under the intimidation of Vladimir Putin, and indeed, as has been made clear by a number of Members around the House, the people of Russia can again enjoy a relationship with other countries around the world not tainted by the actions of this individual Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 123), dated 10 February 2022, a copy of which was laid before this House on 10 February, be approved.
Business without Debate — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Government Operations
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): With the leave of the House, we shall take motions 7 and 8 together Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), Local Government That the draft North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022, which was laid before this House on 24 January, be approved Pensions That the draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Collective Money Purchase Schemes) Regulations 2022, which were laid before this House on 17 January, be approved.—(Gareth Johnson.) Question agreed to.
Murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I have studied the matter at length and must say that the bravery of that lady after she was wounded was astonishing. I understand that all she was concerned about was the safety of other people. What service. How wonderful for the Metropolitan police.
Murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Penning (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Member—my friend—knows, I have been involved in this issue for many years; before that, Sir Teddy Taylor was trying to get justice for the murder of Yvonne Fletcher. The question I have to ask—I asked it when I was the police Minister and I have asked it in parliamentary questions—is: why was that man allowed to come in and out of the country? He was not just a suspect in the Yvonne Fletcher murder but accused of other criminal activities, and yet he walked in and out of this country. That is why an inquiry is vital.
Murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Allan Dorans) on securing this debate and recognise his indefatigable efforts to secure justice for PC Fletcher and her colleagues, friends and family. I thank him for the advance indication of his questions, which I will come to in a moment, and join him in celebrating the dedication and perseverance of PC Fletcher’s friend and colleague, John Murray—most recently, for bringing the case to the civil court, as well as for his continuous efforts ever since PC Fletcher’s death. They are testament to the high regard in which PC Fletcher continues to be held to this day. I also pay tribute to the hard work and commitment that the Metropolitan police has shown over a prolonged period in its efforts to bring to justice those involved in the murder of PC Fletcher. Her death was an appalling tragedy and my thoughts remain with all who loved her The murder of PC Fletcher was one of the most notorious crimes of the past 40 years, representing an act of state-sponsored terrorism that resulted in the fatal wounding of a serving police officer on the streets of London. The hon. Member shared in great detail the findings of the civil case of 16 November 2021, which found that Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk was jointly liable for the killing of PC Yvonne Fletcher Following the conclusion of that case, many, including the hon. Member, have been lobbying for a criminal case to be brought against Mabrouk. In 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service made the decision not to pursue a prosecution in this case, and I understand that that decision was disappointing and frustrating for PC Fletcher’s family, friends and colleagues. It remains, however, an operational matter for the Metropolitan police and the Crown Prosecution Service to consider any criminal prosecution It is important to note the differences in making a finding on liability in a civil court as opposed to in a criminal court. A civil court is required to make its findings on the balance of probabilities. That means that a court is satisfied, on the evidence available, that the occurrence of the event was more likely than not. A higher threshold is imposed in criminal cases, which requires an allegation to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. That means that the jury must be sure that the person is guilty. It is therefore not by any means automatic that Mr Murray’s success in the High Court would or could translate into a successful criminal prosecution.
Murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Penning (Conservative, Centre-right): The Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan police can make such a decision only if they have the evidence that the Government have, which they have not handed over to the CPS. Will the Minister answer the question about whether or not the information that the Government have will be passed over to the CPS so that it can make that decision?