Lewes MP responds after becoming one of 15 MPs sanctioned by Russia
Russia has imposed sanctions on 15 MPs in the UK and banned them from the country, including Lewes MP James MacCleary.
The Russian Foreign Ministry published a statement on Wednesday, April 23, to say the decision was made ‘in response to London’s ongoing confrontational course’.
Mr MacCleary responded on Wednesday afternoon, calling the move a ‘vindication’ of what he stands for.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the UK has been attempting to ‘demonise’ Russia while ‘actively fabricating anti-Russian narratives in order to reduce Moscow’s influence on the international stage’.
They said 15 MPs, as well as six members of the House of Lords, are now banned from entering the Russian Federation.
Mr MacCleary (Liberal Democrat) said: “I see Putin’s sanctions as vindication of everything I’ve stood for.”
The MP said he has been personally sanctioned as ‘retaliation’ for his vocal support of Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine war and his efforts in Parliament to ‘hold Russia accountable’ for its invasion, including his demands to seize frozen Russian assets.
He said he had been ‘targeted by an authoritarian regime’ and said this ‘simply means I’m doing something right’. Mr MacCleary also criticised the ‘regime’s aggression’, calling it ‘a direct threat to peace, stability, and freedom in Europe and beyond’.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has published its list of British nationals banned from entering the Russian Federation and said: “Work on expanding the Russian ‘stop list’ will continue.”