The UK proscribed Hamas in its entirety in November 2021, making it a criminal offence to be a member of or support the organisation. The UK has also sanctioned Palestinian Islamic Jihad, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, and a number of associated individuals. The UK Government carefully considers how and when sanctions can be deployed to maximise their impact, but it is our long-standing position not to speculate about specific designations, as to do so could lessen their impact.

HMRC is responsible for enforcing the ban on imports of oil products refined in third countries from Russian-origin crude oil and investigating suspected offences.

HMRC uses a variety of proven methods to detect sanctions breaches, including: risk and intelligence-based checks on goods imported to the UK, auditing businesses involved in the trade of goods subject to sanctions; and collecting actionable intelligence from domestic and international law enforcement partners and the intelligence community.

Importers of diesel and jet fuel may be requested to present evidence of a good's supply chain. In some cases, HMRC officials may require the production of further information relating to the goods.

The UK has announced four rounds of sanctions since February 2024 against individuals and groups responsible for the violent expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, and against others responsible for inciting that violence. In each case, this has been done as a direct response to specific violent acts committed by the individuals and groups in question, or repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians.

We are not aware of any allegations of an equivalent nature against individuals and groups in the north of Cyprus, but the UK will continue to take decisions on sanctions designations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the relevant legal framework and statutory requirements.

The UK has announced four rounds of sanctions since February 2024 against individuals and groups responsible for the violent expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, and against others responsible for inciting that violence. In each case, this has been done as a direct response to specific violent acts committed by the individuals and groups in question, or repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians.

We are not aware of any allegations of an equivalent nature against individuals and groups in the north of Cyprus, but the UK will continue to take decisions on sanctions designations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the relevant legal framework and statutory requirements.

On 20 May 2026, the UK introduced a new sanctions package to further target Russian revenues and degrade its ability to wage its illegal war in Ukraine and for the first time processed oil products refined from Russian crude in third countries have been banned. The UK Government published an Impact Assessment alongside the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, available on legislation.gov.uk.

Alongside this, a general trade licence, including for jet fuel processed in third countries from Russian crude, was issued to support a managed and phased implementation of complex restrictions, and to provide targeted, temporary flexibility to safeguard UK energy supply and global market stability.

The Government will continue to review the licence every two weeks. This involves continually assessing its impact on energy supply, market conditions and other relevant considerations, against our objective to revoke the licence as soon as is practicable. As part of this process, we have since set an end date of 1 January 2027.

The Secretary of State will consider each application for a trade licence on a case-by-case basis, with key consideration given to whether the proposed activity is consistent with the purposes of the sanctions as specified in Regulation 4 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The Secretary of State must act within the statutory framework Parliament has approved, the licensing power is exercised in a targeted and proportionate way.

The Department is unable to provide information on the flag status of the 173 vessels as it could compromise our ability to successfully take action in the future.

Since Question 759 was tabled, the UK has successfully interdicted the sanctioned oil tanker SMYRTOS. The UK has also supported multiple allied interdictions of sanctioned vessels in recent months.

We will not provide a running commentary or get into details of our decision-making process as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against sanctioned ships, only benefitting our adversaries.

The Government takes the threat of Hamas very seriously and remains committed to cutting off funding sources to Hamas and any other organisations or individuals supporting terrorist activity which prevents sustainable peace in the Middle East.

Under the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, for which the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) holds responsibility for designation, financial sanctions are imposed in a targeted and coordinated manner with the aim of reducing the risk to the UK, its citizens and its interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence.

To achieve those policy aims, OFSI regularly reviews targets for designation to explore whether they meet our criteria for designation under the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. This includes assessing whether the evidence available reaches the thresholds set out in legislation and that the use of sanctions is proportionate to their aims.

It is a standing policy that HMT does not provide details on any OFSI actions or investigations that may or may not be ongoing.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 29 April in response to Question HL14316.

Since 1 October 2024, 343 unique vessels have been challenged for proof of their insurance 849 times through the Voluntary Insurance Reporting Mechanism.

Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs considered the cost of defending civil claims, and aimed to rebalance the risk between claimants and defendants in order to promote access to justice at proportionate cost. The final report can be found here. The report led to significant reforms, including ending the recoverability of Conditional Fee Agreement success fees and After The Event insurance premiums, and the introduction of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRCs) in certain civil cases. Between October 2025 and January 2026, the Government held an initial stocktake of FRCs. The responses to this will help inform the upcoming post-implementation review of the FRC regime, which will consider how that specific reform is operating in practice.

More recently, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) carried out a thorough and wide-ranging review of litigation funding which considered concerns about the cost and burden of litigation for defendants. The CJC’s full report can be found here and its interim report and public consultation can be found here. Alongside the public consultation, the CJC established both a core Working Group and Consultation Group to ensure a wide range of perspectives informed the development of its recommendations.

The Government is confident the CJC and Lord Justice Jackson have suitably reviewed litigation funding and civil costs. As such, we have not made our own formal assessment of the impact of defending civil litigation on small and medium-sized enterprises.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 9 June, and to her responses on these issues in departmental oral questions on 16 June.

Businesses can check whether a person or entity is subject to UK financial sanctions by consulting the UK Sanctions List: FCDO - UK Sanctions List Search - GOV.UK.

Further guidance, including on the territorial scope of UK financial sanctions and circumstances in which a UK nexus may arise, is available in OFSI's published guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-general-guidance/uk-financial-sanctions-general-guidance#overview-of-financial-sanctions

The Government keeps the implementation and effectiveness of its sanctions’ regimes under review. The recent review of the Sanctions (EU Exit) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 made targeted changes to the licensing provisions which enables the satisfaction of pre-existing legal and commercial obligations. This supported a more tailored domestic approach by responding directly to the needs of UK businesses.

It is for businesses to ensure compliance with UK financial sanctions and manage their sanctions risk appropriately.