My Lords, of course these sanctions were laid in a different context. Earlier today, I said that the Opposition fully support the Government and will continue to support them in all their actions against Russia. We should be in no doubt, as the Minister said, that this is an assault on a democratic and sovereign European nation. It is an act of war in no one’s interests. We will fully support all the necessary action.
1 pm
However, while we welcome the Statements that are going to be made—and we are going to have a four or five-hour debate tomorrow when we can make our contributions—it really is important that we work in a
fully co-ordinated way. I certainly welcome the ministerial statement on G7 co-ordination, and the fact that the noble Lord has spent much of his time recently building relationships with allies more broadly than just across Europe and the G7, which will be vital if we are going to stand up to this act of aggression.
I have a couple of other points to make. I share the concerns of my noble friends Lord Browne and Lord Foulkes, about what possible action will be included. I know the noble Lord has given a commitment that action will be ramping up as strongly as possible, but we need to consider every possible action beyond sanctions. I pick up the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, about the actions we might want to take on illicit finance and some of the oligarchs who operate here. I hope the Minister can assure us that the Government have all the necessary powers to take action. If they do not, let me assure him that the Opposition will support every step taken to ensure that the United Kingdom has the necessary powers to act, and we will co-operate with the Government to ensure that this is done as speedily as possible.
During our discussions earlier this morning, no one will have been surprised that the photographs, pictures and newsreels from Ukraine were pretty appalling, and of course there will be a humanitarian crisis developing. Indeed, it has already developed: people are escaping the bombs, and I hope the Minister can assure us that we will take all possible steps to provide humanitarian support, particularly for those fleeing the conflict. I share the view about ensuring that we hit the Russians with the strongest possible economic sanctions, and the SWIFT financial mechanism is something we should obviously explore. I know the Minister will not be able to make any commitments today in advance of Statements and the consideration we will be giving tonight at 7 pm, so I will not carry on, but I reassure the Minister that he has our full support in the proposed actions that are to come.