After the Prime Minister's statement to the House of Commons regarding Russia, Dr Julian Lewis MP, chair of the Defence Committee and a member of The Freedom Association, asked the following question:

"No reasonable person can possibly doubt that the Russian Government have behaved with arrogance, inhumanity and contempt, not least in failing to respond to the Prime Minister’s deadline, which they surely would have done if they had known that they were innocent of this charge. In welcoming the Prime Minister’s expulsion of 23 diplomats who are really intelligence agents, may I ask her to make it clear that any retaliation in kind by the Russian Government will be met by further expulsions, perhaps including even of the ambassador, who spends so much time coming to talk to us in this place, bemoaning the poor state of Anglo-Russian relations? Does she accept that Russia traditionally respects strength and despises weakness, and that the time has come to recognise that 2% of GDP is not enough to spend on defence when we are reverting to the sort of adversarial relationship that we had when we spent a much higher proportion of GDP on ensuring that this country was well defended?"

Andrew Allison, Head of Campaigns at The Freedom Association, said:

"Anyone who believes in freedom and the rule of law will support the measures announced by the Prime Minister today. Putin's regime cares only for its own freedom to torture, murder, embezzle, and interfere in the affairs of other countries. 

"No-one in the UK wants a return to the cold war, however, Russia's actions must have consequences. The security of every country in the world is at risk if we do not take firm action and send a clear message that the use of chemical weapons on the streets of Britain will not be tolerated under any circumstances."