Russian planes entering Britain’s airspace now a ‘criminal offence’ and could be SEIZED, Transport Secretary announces
RUSSIAN planes entering Britain's airspace will now be committing a criminal offence and could be seized, the Transport Secretary said.
Grant Shapps announced the new rule on Twitter just days after Putin's direct threat to the UK for supporting Ukraine.
Mr Shapps shared a post alongside a photo of a signed document detailing the new legislation.
The statement read: "I have made it a criminal offence for ANY Russian aircraft to enter UK airspace and now HMG can detain these jets.
"We will suffocate Putin's cronies’ ability to continue living as normal while thousands of innocent people die."
Shapps branded the invasion an "unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state".
He also stated the UK has repeatedly warned of "massive consequences and severe cost of any Russian military incursion into Ukraine".
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The new legislation comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a six-point action plan against the Russian President.
The PM said: “Putin must fail and be seen to fail in this act of aggression.
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“It’s not enough to express our support for rules-based international order — we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force.
“The world is watching. It is not future historians but the people of Ukraine who will be our judge.”
Speaking during a visit to an RAF base Mr Johnson said Putin is "doubling down" his "murderous attacks" against civilians and vowed to fight back saying "nothing is off the table."
He said: "The unity of the West has been very, very strong during this period, and it's been something that I don't think Putin bargained for.
"But now that he is going for this really unrestrained attack on cities, now that he's attacking civilians in the way that he is, I think we've got to recognise that we've got to do more on sanctions."
Meanwhile, Russians face being barred from entering the UK under beefed-up border powers being introduced.
The move would send "a strong signal" to the Kremlin that it could not attack a peaceful neighbour and expect "business as usual", Home Office minister Baroness Williams of Trafford told Parliament.
Penalising Russian nationals as part of a package of sanctions would help ramp the pressure up on the regime in Moscow, she said.
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