Bucks Council ends Gazprom contracts 20 months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Buckinghamshire Council has ended its contracts with Russian majority state-owned energy company Gazprom.

The contracts of two crematoriums with the natural gas giant – now known as SEFE Energy – finished on October 1, 2022, the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A council spokesperson said: “Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we urgently reviewed our energy contracts and sought to end any agreements that were in place with the company formerly called Gazprom.

“For the most part the council had no dealings with Gazprom, other than supplies for two crematoria. Those contracts ended more than a year ago.”

Apart from the crematoriums, the Council’s “corporate and investment estates” have not used Gazprom energy.

The unitary authority spent a total of £208,391.64 on its energy contracts with Gazprom during the 2021/22 financial year – prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following the invasion, contracts between Gazprom and several English councils came under scrutiny amid concerns that local authorities’ energy expenditure may have been funding the Russian war machine.

Recent news reports have claimed that the Russian energy company is also financing private militias to fight in Ukraine.

Shortly after the war began, Bucks Council Leader Martin Tett told the BBC: “We have a very small number of tiny contracts and a very, very small investment in our pension scheme and we’re going to look at how quickly we can get out of those.

“It’s really important we show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”