Lord Cameron is under pressure to finally break a deal with Europe amid growing anger that £2.34 billion of ‘world-changing’ funds from the sale of Chelsea FC is still in limbo after 18 months.
Roman Abramovich for the first time pledged proceeds for “all Ukrainian war victims” after putting Chelsea up for sale on March 2 last year, eight days before he faced sanctions over alleged links to Vladimir Putin.
However, as previously detailed by Telegraph Sport, the huge fund has remained untouched in a frozen account since the club’s sale, partly due to a “bureaucratic quagmire” between the government and Europe.
Despite the sale of the club taking place entirely within British jurisdiction, ministers signed a unilateral declaration with the European Commission in May stating that the money would be spent “exclusively” within Ukraine.
However, Cameron’s appointment as foreign secretary has led to renewed efforts to get the funds released, with calls from Save the Children and Mike Penrose, a former managing director of Unicef in Britain, who was about to finally establish the proposed independent foundation that will have control over the money.
After months of frustration, Penrose says he hopes the “heavyweight” return of Cameron, the former prime minister, to frontbench politics could bring a long-awaited breakthrough.
“The unilateral declaration can be withdrawn at any time,” Penrose explains. “This is a former Prime Minister who increased Britain’s standing in humanitarian work. Its past partnerships have made Britain arguably the world’s leading humanitarian nation. I look forward to speaking to him when he returns from his first trips, and I am hopeful that he will have the vision to make this work.”
That call was backed by James Deneslow, head of the conflict team at Save the Children, who told Telegraph Sport: “Now that a new Foreign Secretary has been appointed, we will continue to advocate for the use of this huge amount of sanctioned money to humanitarian consequences of the war in Ukraine.
“As we have maintained, the funds must be released and made available to all victims of the war in Ukraine – whether that is within Ukraine’s geographical borders, supporting Ukrainian refugees in Europe or financing food programs in Eastern Europe. Africa, where food insecurity has increased. made worse by the war.”
‘Stature, understanding and experience’
Penrose has set up legal obligations to ensure that the money cannot fall back into Abramovich’s hands. The government will receive input from the board and Jan Egeland, a senior Norwegian diplomat who once advised Kofi Annan at the United Nations, has been appointed as interim chairman.
In recent weeks, No 10 has discussed the possibility of ‘disapplying’ the Human Rights Act as an emergency law, in a bid to push through plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Penrose, who had previously dealt with James Cleverly, compared that case to the dilemma facing Cameron. “I’ll just go back to the government and say, ‘If the EU doesn’t agree with you on this, you have the right to have moral courage and push back on the EU,’” Penrose added. “The right thing to do is to help Ukrainians around the world and all the people affected by the war, including the families who host them in Britain.”
The permit granted by the UK government, which sets out the next stage in this process, expires on November 30. This has been extended by joint agreement in the past and it is almost certain that it will be extended again.
Penrose said he had worked directly with Cameron since his appointment as Foreign Secretary, but a meeting would be arranged in the coming weeks.
“Having worked with people who have worked with him before and knowing his legacy, I am confident that someone of his stature, understanding and experience will see the opportunity this presents to make Britain a leader in humanitarian aid,” said Penrose.
“I think he will understand the issue of breaking the bond and why it is the right thing to do: we can help people in Britain, we can help refugees in Moldova and Poland, we can help people who are starving because of the Ukrainian grain cuts. Not just people in Ukraine.”
A breakthrough remained elusive, despite British families hosting Ukrainian refugees launching a petition urging the Prime Minister to “break the political impasse”.
Over the summer, Action Against Hunger joined Oxfam, Save the Children and a host of organizations on the ground in Ukraine to criticize the government’s delays.
The disagreement over the foundation’s objectives dates back to before the sale of Chelsea to a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly was completed on May 30 last year. Sources close to the process said Abramovich had signed a commitment agreement with the government stating that the charity would benefit “Ukraine and its consequences.”
However, in a unilateral statement last year, the government said: “The Ministry of Finance will only issue a permit guaranteeing that such proceeds are used exclusively for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.” Saleh Saeed, from the Disasters Emergency Committee, also supported Penrose’s position that the humanitarian need extends beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Kate Cavalier, 44, who has been hosting a family of Ukrainians in her home in England for 15 months, also called on Cameron to intervene.
“The UK has welcomed many Ukrainian families since the outbreak of war,” she said. “I am so proud that our country has provided shelter and care to more than 160,000 Ukrainian people fleeing war – mostly women and children. However, many of their friends and family have not been so lucky and are in desperate need of humanitarian support as the war enters its second winter.
“This money could make such a big difference, but instead it remains stuck in bureaucracy, stuck in a sanctioned bank account. I would ask Lord Cameron to use his political experience to cut through this bureaucracy; to release these sanctioned funds and create a humanitarian foundation that Britain can be proud of.”
The government rejects any suggestion it is sitting on the money, with multiple sources telling Telegraph Sport they believe the agreement from the start was to spend the money only in Ukraine. An insider with knowledge of the talks said they thought it unlikely that Cameron would take a new government position, insisting that “this money was always intended for Ukraine”.
Abramovich’s approval would be required to release the funds in accordance with those terms.