Only Bedfordshire MP to be sanctioned by Russia says it is 'badge of honour'

Andrew Selous, MP for South West Bedfordshire, says he is proud to have been penalised by the Kremlin for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.

On March 31, Mr Selous welcomed the sanctions placed on Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, known as ‘the Butcher of Mariupol’, for masterminding the shelling of civilian areas in Mariupol. He had previously done the same to Aleppo in Syria.

Mr Selous said: “I would have been outraged if I had not been included on the list of MPs sanctioned by Russia.

"It was my duty to speak out against this particular general who was responsible for many civilian deaths in Aleppo and who has now killed many more civilians in Mariupol.

"I also called for sanctions to be extended much further down the Russian chain of command and to be applied to all officers who have committed war crimes in Ukraine.”

The Kremlin has sanctioned 287 MPs in retaliation to the British government’s decision to sanction 386 Duma members (the lower house of the Russian parliament) last month.

However, the list appears to be out of date and contains MPs who are no longer elected.

It also misses off the rest of the county’s MPs.

Jo Johnson, brother of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is on the list – despite having left the Commons in 2019.

The Prime Minister told those listed to regards the sanctions “as a badge of honour".