The Foreign Office says 39 prominent Britons have been banned from Russia. It said it was acting in response to UK sanctions against the Russians, which have been put in place in response to the war in Ukraine. The list also includes shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandey, shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, former Tory cabinet minister Liam Fox and former NATO secretary-general George Robertson. Putin issues warning of nuclear war. Tensions flare in two more European countries – Ukraine live updates The Russian government also banned some Scottish politicians from the country in response to aid given to Ukraine after the invasion. Holyrood Chancellor of the Exchequer Kate Forbes, Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson and Ukraine Secretary Neil Gray were shortlisted. Scottish Green co-leader – and Scottish Government minister – Lorna Slater and fellow Green MSP Ross Greer have also joined, as has Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton. Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon was similarly sanctioned earlier this year. Others on the list include Sky News chief John Ryley, BBC presenter Huw Edwards, ITV News political editor Robert Peston, TalkTV presenter Piers Morgan and The Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler. Responding to the news on Twitter, Mr Morgan said: “It wasn’t on my immediate holiday to-do list.” Russia says its “stop list” includes British politicians, businessmen and journalists who “contribute to London’s hostile course aimed at demonizing our country and isolating it internationally”. The Foreign Office criticized the UK government’s “continued implementation of the sanctions relief mechanism against representatives of Russia’s socio-political circles, domestic economic actors and the media”. It said that “the pernicious actions of the UK in instilling Russophobia, spreading false information about our country and supporting the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev will receive an adequate and decisive response from the Russian side.” “The choice to confront is a conscious decision by the British political establishment, which bears full responsibility for the consequences.”
