Ukraine war: Portsmouth's council agrees to cancel city's contract with Gazprom

Councillors supported the use of a break clause to end the deal two years' early, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

'Along many other organisations, we find ourselves with a contract with Gazprom who we don't wish to be associated with,' council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said. 'We hope there is action on this quickly from government but if not...we want to get out at the earliest possible opportunity.'

The council will be charged £57,000 in penalty fees for ending the contract in September, rather than letting it run until 2024.

The contract had been estimated to be worth almost £5.5m and would have seen Gazprom supply gas to all council-owned buildings in the city.

Gazprom supplies about 20 per cent of the non-domestic gas market in the UK through its British subsidiary, including to a number of local authorities and NHS bodies.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson said he had approached the government and Ofgem to take action against the firm, allowing the contract to be ended even sooner.