Diesel and jet fuel refined abroad from Russian crude can still be imported into Britain until 1 January, but Labour will not say how much has arrived, saying the volumes are too low to publish.
They have also made no assessment of how much jet fuel made from Russian oil is used at Heathrow and Gatwick, according to answers to a Conservative peer.
The answers, published on Monday, came from the business minister Lord Sarwar in reply to Lord Moynihan, the former Conservative sports minister. Asked how much diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude in Türkiye and India had been imported since 20 May, Lord Sarwar said importers must notify the Government within 30 days of using the exemption. But he said: ‘Due to low volumes, figures of the exact volume notified to Government of diesel and jet fuel imported into the UK are withheld to prevent the identification of individuals or businesses.’
On 20 May the UK banned imports of oil products made in third countries from Russian crude, closing a route by which Russian oil could reach Britain through refineries abroad. On the same day it issued a general licence exempting diesel and jet fuel. It came as fuel prices rose sharply after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Government said it would support UK supply chains during the transition.
The licence had no end date when it was issued. On 12 June ministers said it would expire on 1 January 2027 at the latest, and promised to review it every fortnight and lift it as soon as possible. The trade minister Sir Chris Bryant said at the time that the end date was ‘a clear signal that we continue to ratchet up maximum pressure on Russia’.
Lord Sarwar repeated that pledge on Monday. The licence, he said, is ‘a temporary measure’ and the aim is ‘to lift the licence as soon as is practicable to further target Russian revenues and degrade its ability to wage its illegal war in Ukraine’.
More than five months after it was introduced, and despite fortnightly reviews, the exemption remains in force. Ministers have promised industry at least four months’ notice of any change, and have not published what the reviews found.
That leaves an obvious question. If imports under the exemption are now so small that publishing them could identify individual firms, what is it still protecting, and why has it not been lifted?
Lord Moynihan also asked how much of the aviation fuel used at Gatwick and Heathrow is refined from Russian crude. ‘The Government has not made an assessment,’ Lord Sarwar replied.
London’s airports have historically been heavy users of Russian jet fuel. An analysis by Zero Carbon Analytics found that Heathrow and Gatwick accounted on average for 92 per cent of Russian jet fuel consumption among Europe’s leading airports between 2011 and 2021.
The wider trade has been large. Research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, reported by Politico, estimated that between 2022 and the end of 2025 the UK imported £4 billion of oil products from refineries in India and Turkey that run partly on Russian crude, of which around £1.6 billion would have been made from Russian oil.
Britain has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest backers. The Government says the UK has committed up to £21.8 billion to Ukraine, including £13 billion in military support, and has sanctioned more than 3,300 individuals, businesses and vessels under its Russia regime.
Ministers are right that fuel supply matters, for drivers, hauliers and airlines alike. But they have also said the point of the ban is to cut off the revenues that fund Putin’s war.
Unless the licence is lifted sooner, diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude can keep arriving until New Year’s Day, and ministers will not say how much is coming in or where it ends up.
