This afternoon, the Russian foreign ministry announced reciprocal sanctions on 287 Commons members, including Mansfield MP Ben Bradley.
The ministry said the sanctions on members of the House of Commons were in response to Britain imposing similar restrictions on 386 members of its own lower house of parliament on March 11.
A translation of a statement reported by the state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti read: “In response to the decision taken on March 11 this year by the British government to include 386 deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the sanctions list, on the basis of reciprocity, personal restrictions are being introduced against 287 members of the House of Commons of the British Parliament.”
Those named are now banned from travelling to Russia and any assets they hold in the country are likely to be frozen.
The list is out of date and contains several people who are no longer Members of Parliament.
Commenting, Ben Bradley MP said:
“Being sanctioned by the Russian Government wasn’t something I was expecting! Luckily, I had no plans to visit Russia so this won’t hinder any future travel arrangements…
“I’m taking it as a badge of honour! Although, I’d like to advise the Russian foreign ministry to update their records because they have sanctioned people who retired years ago.”
