If the government truly wants public services to ditch Gazprom – it knows what it has to do

Few would question the moral argument of finding a new energy supplier, but legally things are far less clear-cut, argues Ben Chapman

Health secretary Sajid Javid wants the NHS to sever contracts with Russia’s gas giant (Getty Images)

UK councils, schools and hospital trusts spend millions of pounds each year on energy supplied by Gazprom, the Russian state-backed gas giant.

This week, ministers have been keen to show that – after years of welcoming Russian money and goods – they are now acting tough in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid reportedly told NHS trusts they should ditch Gazprom and find new suppliers. A senior government source told PA that Javid had also requested “a wider review of any Russian role in supply chains across the health service”.