Sanctioned elsewhere but not by the UK
There are several individuals being sanctioned by other nations but not by the UK. Oleg Deripaska was sanctioned by America for money laundering, ordering the murder of a business rival, illegally wiretapping government officials, extortion, racketeering and bribing government officials. He owns 45% of an aluminium company listed on the London Stock Exchange, and former Conservative energy minister Lord Barker is its executive chairman. The Russian state-owned VTB bank was suspended from the Stock Exchange but Andrey Kostin, president of the bank, is not sanctioned. Victor Zolotov, also on the EU's list but not UK's, leads Russia's national guard. His family is one of the richest in Russia in the real estate sector, with property portfolios in the UK. Pro-Kremlin billionaire Alisher Usmanov founded Russian-based USM which owns major iron, steel and copper suppliers and a telecommunications company, and has commercial ties to Everton Football Club (which has suspended its sponsorship contracts with USM).
‘Chaotic’ Kickstart scheme for youth fails
The Public Accounts Committee supported the Department for Work and Pensions as it tried to help young people into work at what was expected to be a downturn in employment opportunities. But the £1.9 billion ‘emergency intervention’ Kickstart scheme has supported far fewer young people than predicted. Early delivery was chaotic and DWP ‘neglected to put in place basic management information that would be expected for a multi-billion-pound grant programme’. Also, despite more favourable than predicted economic conditions, many young people who joined Universal Credit when the pandemic started have remained on the benefit. DWP doesn’t know why these people are not in Kickstart jobs.
Roman Abramovich will sell football club
It was announced on 2 March that Roman Abramovich wishes to sell Chelsea Football Club. He says he will donate the proceeds from the sale to a foundation ‘for the benefit of all victims of the Ukraine war.’ Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss was given the chance to buy Chelsea. MP Chris Bryant revealed that Abramovich is selling his UK home and another flat, telling the House of Commons that he is ‘terrified of being sanctioned’. He is owed £1.5billion by Chelsea after buying it in a £140m deal in 2003, but he will not ask for any of the loans to be repaid; the sale will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. Onlookers say that although Abramovich may want to sell Chelsea, he may not be allowed to; it depends on what the Government decides to do in the coming days and weeks. If his assets are frozen, he cannot do anything. His company Evraz continues to trade on the stock market: see
Male violence against women
Sarah Everard’s murder a year ago revolutionised how the public understand male violence against women. The first major survey of women’s groups in the UK since her death found 89% thought there had been a shift in public awareness over the last twelve months. ‘There has also been a recognition of how normalised fear is for women. It is a fear we learn very young, and we carry it with us until we are old.’ Sarah’s murder by serving police officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in south London sparked a national debate that continues to reverberate throughout the UK. Meanwhile, two Met police constables were jailed after taking and sharing photos of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, and last week a man pleaded guilty to the murder of Sabina Nessa as her community remembered a kind and loving schoolteacher. These high-profile murders have led to significant policy shifts.
