Vince Cable has promised to use talks with Russian government ministers to highlight UK concerns about the case of Greenpeace protesters awaiting trial for alleged “hooliganism”.
The UK business secretary was speaking as relatives of the “Arctic 30” detainees met Europe minister David Lidington at the Foreign Office in London to discuss their concerns about the treatment of the 28 activists and two journalists, who were seized on September 19 during an attempt to board a Gazprom drilling rig in the northern oceans.
The family of one of the detainees – cameraman Philip Ball from Oxfordshire – were meeting Prime Minister David Cameron in 10 Downing Street for private talks on the case in his capacity as Mr Ball’s constituency MP.
The detainees are understood to be being transported by train from the northern city of Murmansk to pre-trial detention centres more than 800 miles away in Saint Petersburg.
Charges against the detainees were downgraded from piracy, which has a maximum sentence of 15 years, to hooliganism, which can result in a seven-year term behind bars. But Mr Cameron last week told Russia’s president Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation that he considers the hooliganism charge excessive, while Foreign Secretary William Hague has also raised the issue of the detentions with his opposite number in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov.
Mr Cable, who is visiting Russia at the head of a trade delegation, told the BBC: “I spoke to Greenpeace before I left the UK and one of their main concerns was lack of knowledge and clarity about what is going on. The news that has emerged today that the detainees will be moved to St Petersburg will be well-received by their families.
“I will be raising it again tomorrow in my discussions with Russian ministers and I will continue to make the case for the importance of fair and proportionate treatment.
“We have been raising this issue repeatedly from the Prime Minister downwards. The embassy is working to support the individuals concerned and our main priority is to ensure that they get fair and proper treatment.
“I am leading on business discussions in Russia but I will make sure that this issue is properly raised and that we make some progress with it.”
Mr Cable is leading a group of 30 British businesses seeking trade opportunities in Russia, including several representatives of the sports stadium construction industry hoping to get involved in preparations for the 2018 football World Cup in Russia, as well as a company proposing to design a new a city on the border with China.
“We are trying to build on the success of the Olympics in London,” said Mr Cable. “We already have rapidly expanding trade with Russia. British exports to Russia have grown by almost 80% since 2009 and Russia is now the fourth biggest market for goods outside the US, EU and China.
“I met with the Russian organisers of the World Cup this morning. Britain delivered the Olympic Games on time and on budget and impressed the world and we want to build on that legacy.”
Asked whether it was appropriate to discuss trade deals with Russia at a time of tension over the detention of UK citizens, Mr Cameron’s official spokesman told a regular Westminster press briefing:
“A feature of the Government’s approach is that we believe in the importance of engagement. Of course, that includes engaging on those areas where you have disagreements.”
In last week’s phone call, the PM wanted to make sure that Mr Putin was “fully aware” of the UK Government’s concerns, said the spokesman.
The PM’s spokesman added: “He believes that the charges – although they have changed from piracy to hooliganism – are excessive because the activists are not hooligans, they are protesters.
“He also understands that there is a Russian judicial process to be gone through, but he wanted to be sure that at the highest level of government in Russia our concerns were understood.”
