“The twisted lies of imperialism”: David Lammy on Russia and the Ukraine crisis

Below is the full text of the speech delivered in parliament this afternoon by Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Russia and the Ukraine crisis.

My ancestors knew what it is like to have their freedom taken away at the barrel of gun. They knew what the twisted lies of imperialism sound like. They knew what it is like to live without a vote. They were taken from their homes, enslaved, shackled to ships and forced to work for the profit of a foreign empire. Mr Speaker, no act of authoritarianism is ever the same. But Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine in recent weeks and days are an ugly attempt to restore the Russian empire.

The Russian President denied the right of a sovereign nation to exist. Unilaterally recognised separatist movements that seek to dismember Ukraine. And then, under the cowardly shield of the night, sent in tanks and soldiers to enforce his diktat. Putin’s crimes against peace need a united and immediate response. A full set sanctions possible now provide continued support for the Ukrainian army and clean out the dirty Russian cash in our system. But to stand up to Putin in the long term we need to stand up to Putinism.

Because Putin is not unique. He is the figurehead of an ideology that is being emulated by despots and dictators around the world. Putinism is imperialism. Putinism is authoritarianism. Putinism is ethno-nationalism. The Russian regime represents an fundamental geopolitical threat. But we will not defeat the broader threat until we tackle the ideology that underlies it. Part of our message to Putin must be that his actions are a historic mistake.

This is not the first time a Russian leader has waded into conflict as a result of his ideology. The same thing happened in East Berlin in 1953 when the USSR moved in to suppress riots. It happened in Hungary in 1956 when Russia sent in troops to invade the country. It happened in Czechoslovakia in 1968. And in Afghanistan in 1979. None of these acts of aggression were successes in the long term for Russia. And civilians caught in the middle always pay a terrible price.

Take the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968: Russian soldiers strode in convinced their invasion was liberating the Czech people from capitalism. But when they are arrived, normal Czechs surrounded the invading forces. “Why are you here?” they asked. “You aren’t liberators. You are aggressors,” they said. The Russian troops were deflated. The propaganda they had been fed was a lie. The same thing will happen if Putin moves on the rest of Ukraine. Only the Ukrainian people should have the freedom to determine their own futures.

This fundamental belief in self-determination is shared across so many of our borders. It is a founding principle of so many of our closest Allies and partners across this great continent and beyond it. The logic of democracy is why Putin will never win in the end. Any reward he could gain would be pyrrhic. Putin has made his move. The wider threat Ukraine faces is immediate. But the consequences for Europe and the West are also stark. This is the end of the post-Cold war era. But we do not yet know what era is next because it has not been decided.

The effects of this moment will depend as much on our response to this aggression as it will on the aggression itself. What we do know is that autocrats from around the world are watching to see if we meet this test of our strength and resolve. China will be watching to see how the West responds to Russia. As it plots its next moves. So we must be strong. Not only to defend the people of Ukraine whose dignity and resilience has been an inspiration to all of us throughout this crisis but also to defend the liberal international order we need to stay safe.

Labour would go deeper, broader, stronger and faster on sanctions. The government’s targeting of just five banks and three individuals is not enough. They claim these are the toughest ever sanctions on Russia. But after the annexation of Crimea, the UK froze the assets of almost 200 individuals and 50 entities alongside a range of other measures. So Labour would go much further.

We’d increase the depth of sanctions by targeting more oligarchs and more banks. We’d increase the breadth of sanctions by widening the measures beyond just asset freezes to sectoral measures blocking dealing in Russian sovereign debt and banning the fake news producing Russia Today. We’d ramp up the speed of sanctions not waiting for Putin’s next act of war by introducing the full set of sanctions now. We’d increase their coherence moving in lockstep with our allies who have sanctioned more people, more quickly than we have and stopped Nord Stream 2 and targeted Belarus too.

And we would make our sanctions stronger by targeting the systems people operate in as well as just individuals. That means reforming Companies House so it’s fit for purpose, it means creating a register of overseas owners of UK property, it means delivering a strong economic crime bill and it means implementing recommendations of the Russia report.

Sanctions are the way we punish Russia for its crimes but there is so much action we should have taken years ago to defeat the corruption, crime and lies that define the ideology and operating system of Putinism. That means rooting out the dirty money that is corrupting our economy and our democracy. It’s no use tackling Russian aggression abroad, while doing nothing to tackle Russian corruption at home. For a decade the Tories have failed on this – worse, they have enabled it. We are working with the government in standing up against Russian aggression in Ukraine. But they must also work with us so the UK can get its own house in order.

It is shameful that the UK is regularly described as the ‘money laundering capital of the world’. It is shameful that our US allies have said they are concerned the influence of Russian money may have compromised us. It is shameful that the Tories have failed to stop Russian money from turning London into a laundromat for ill-gotten gains. Our openness to kleptocratic money has weakened our country. Dirty Russian money props up Putin’s regime by shielding the dark money of the Russia’s oligarchs and Putin himself.

It fuels crime on our streets when kids risk their lives to deal drugs on county lines – that’s dirty money. When vulnerable women are trafficked across the country to be abused – that’s dirty money. When people are forced to live in fear because of criminal gangs on their streets- that’s funded by dirty money. And dirty money makes the housing crisis worse by inflating prices and buying up properties to lie empty as assets not homes. And it leads people to ask questions about the Tory party who have accepted 2 million pounds in donations since Boris Johnson took power in 2019. Mr Speaker, they must now give that money back.

Mr Speaker, today we call on the whole House to come together to end the tidal flow of dirty Russian money flooding into our country. Ending our openness to fraud and money laundering with an economic crime Bill brought forward next month. Fixing our inadequate regulation of political donations by reversing the Conservative’s Elections Bill that is setting us back. Strengthening our lax mechanisms of corporate governance, enabling our national agencies to clamp down on economic crime and blocking the threat of foreign interference in our politics. We need transparency with an overseas entities bill and reform of Companies House to shut down the shell companies that obscure the origins of wealth and hide corruption and reveal who owns land and property from abroad. And finally this House must come together and recognise the urgency of implementing the Russia report – which was published in July 2020, now nearly two years ago.

Mr Speaker, defeating Putinism starts with leadership that represents our values. If we are to be taken seriously on the world stage when we talk about democracy, we cannot be watering it down at home with unfair reforms like voter ID and loose rules about overseas donations. If we are to be credible champions of international law our leaders must practice the laws they set at home. The best way to defend the rule of law is to follow it. Mr Speaker, enough is now enough. Putin has invaded Ukraine – a sovereign state and a friend and partner of the UK. An attack on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of ordinary Ukrainians. We can no longer let him exploit the holes in our system at home to enable his aggression abroad.

This issue is not partisan. Nor should it be difficult. It’s shameful the government hasn’t acted long ago. We want to work with the government to not only win against Putin’s aggression abroad but also to defeat the ideology of Putinism at home. We are united in this house in support of NATO, in support of freedom, in support of democracy and equality. So let’s send a clear message to President Putin and authoritarians around the world. The UK is no longer a haven for your dirty cash.