Foreign secretary Liz Truss has reportedly told MPs that ‘London law firms’ are delaying government efforts to implement sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw said on Friday that Truss had briefed his colleagues that sanctions were being ‘held up’ by lawyers who are challenging the move. Bradshaw said the government should name those firms responsible.

Bradshaw later told the Independent newspaper that Truss had tried to outline during briefings about why the UK was not acting faster on sanctioning Russian oligarchs in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

He said: ‘She explained that they had to make certain their actions were legally watertight, because of the litigiousness of the London law firms representing these men. It’s absolutely outrageous – the British public have a right to know which legal firms based here in London are trying to prevent the sanctioning of Putin’s cronies.’

Truss, a former justice secretary, has not publicly commented on the reports that she blames lawyers for holding up the sanctions process. She said yesterday that the UK ‘will not stop inflicting economic pain on the Kremlin until Ukrainian sovereignty is restored.’

But her attempt to blame law firms has been met with scorn by members of the legal community. Legal commentator David Allen Green said Truss claims were ‘twaddle’ and that there was nothing City law firms could do for their oligarch clients if the government acted decisively.

Jessica Simor QC, a public regulatory and human rights law specialist, tweeted in response: ‘Law firms can’t hold it up. Only a court could. Are there any court orders? I doubt it. I doubt she is telling the truth – or she is ill-advised by her own lawyers.’

The UK has imposed sanctions, including freezing assets and imposing a travel ban, on 10 named individuals and 11 businesses, including six banks. All Russian aircraft, including private jets, are now banned from UK airspace, and plans are in place to prevents Russian state-owned and private companies from borrowing or raising capital on the UK markets.

  • Update 27 February: In an interview with the Sunday Times, Truss is quoted as saying: 'We’ve already had letters to the Foreign Office, from lawyers, threatening us', and therefore 'we have to make sure the cases are properly prepared and that we have the right evidence before we sanction these individuals. That is why we’re taking it step by step, but we are working through that hit-list and we will continue to sanction new oligarchs every few weeks.'

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