Russia bans hundreds of British lawmakers

Russia banned 287 British lawmakers from the country in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom on 386 Russian lawmakers in March, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

The Ministry said it will enforce “personal restrictions” on the 287 members of the House of Commons from both parties, saying that the chosen politicians “took the most active part” in sanctioning 386 members of the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

The Ministry added that the lawmakers contributed “to the groundless whipping up of Russophobic hysteria in the UK.”

Those sanctioned include Downing Street Chief of Staff Steve Barclay, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and other lawmakers from both the Conservative and Labour parties.

“The hostile rhetoric and far-fetched accusations coming from the mouths of British parliamentarians not only condone the hostile course of London, aimed at demonizing our country and its international isolation, but are also used by opponents of mutually respectful dialogue with Russia to undermine the foundation of bilateral cooperation,” the statement read.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was sanctioned with other British lawmakers earlier this month, told parliament Wednesday that the sanctioned politicians should “regard it as a badge of honor,” according to Reuters.