TWO years after former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich promised £2.5BILLION to help Ukraine victims, shamefully not a penny has left the UK.
Blocked by red-tape, this huge sum from the sale of the club — seven times more than this country has provided — is idle and waiting for the Government to act.
I’m told that a disagreement has formed between the Trustees running the fund and the Government about how it should be spent.
Responsibility has passed from department to department while Ukrainians are slaughtered and buildings are reduced to rubble.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron stated recently that Russia was “going to have to pay reparations for its illegal invasion, so why not spend some of the money now, rather than wait till the war is over and have all the legal wrangling.” Quite right too.
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Redress, a charity seeking justice for survivors, are demanding action from the Government in setting up structures here and in Ukraine to compensate victims.
The figures are mortifying — more than 125,000 war crimes including sexual abuse and torture have been reported, ten million people displaced and about 14 million in need of psychological aid.
Many need help now. It’s a national disgrace that a charity which could do so much good in a country fighting a vicious, evil enemy is being stood up by Trustees who are the very ones who are meant to distribute the money.
If I was the Government I would name and shame each one of these “Trustees” who have yet to apply for a License so the Government can release the money.
Then I’d hold them to account by inviting them to a Select Committee to answer this question. Where is the money and why haven’t you released it to Ukraine?