Suffolk's county council is ceasing its contract with a Russian-owned energy supplier as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it has been confirmed.

The authority announced on Tuesday afternoon that it was breaking away from its contract with Gazprom, held by its wholly owned company Vertas.

SCC leader Matthew Hicks said: "When Vladimir Putin made the immoral and utterly reprehensible decision to invade Ukraine, I instructed officers last week to review our contract with Russian-owned energy company Gazprom.

"I can confirm that we have decided to invoke our options to break away from the contract, ending our connection with Gazprom. Working with our partners, we are actively pursuing this outcome.

"The Government is imposing economic sanctions on Russia and this is a part we can play in helping to bring to an end this act of aggression on a free and peaceful nation and its innocent people."

The current contract was negotiated in 2019, commenced in 2020 and due to run until 2023, with several organisations pursuing their gas through the contract.

The authority confirmed that from April all its electricity will be supplied by EDF Energy for the next three years from renewable sources – a mix of wind, hydro and solar power.

Andrew Stringer, leader of the opposition Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent group, said: "I welcome our council's reconsideration of our funding of Gazprom.

"Of course, had the calls from the Green and Lib Dem group been heeded over the years, we would have already moved away from our toxic reliance on fossil fuels years ago.

"By outsourcing our energy contract, we do, by definition, outsource the morality of our decisions to others.

"Our group firmly believes that a democratically accountable procurement process has to be at the heart of our decision making."

Prayers for Peace