Andrew Marr has vowed to boycott huge food and drink chains that are continuing to trade in Russia.
The LBC presenter spoke to Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy about the pressure corporate giants are facing to pull their business out of Russia since President Vladimir Putin waged war on Ukraine by invading the country.
During Tuesday’s episode of Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, Mr Lammy said: ‘Look it shouldn’t come to that, they should just step back from being in Russia.
‘Just as you’ve seen Microsoft and others make those announcements, I want us and our population to remain united so it’s not about boycotts, it’s not about individual action.
‘It’s got to be about governments making sure that collectively those companies do the right thing, and I’m sure we’ll see more of that in the coming days.’
Sharing his stance on the situation, Marr then said: ‘It may not for me be a great personal sacrifice but I’m not going to eat Burger King, or drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi or go to a Starbucks until they come out of Russia, I can tell you that.’
McDonald’s announced later in the evening that it was going to temporarily close restaurants and pause operations in Russia.
In a statement given by its chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, to staff and later shared publicly, the company said: ‘The conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Europe has caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people.
‘As a system, we join the world in condemning aggression and violence and praying for peace.’
Starbucks was also among the corporate giants to follow suit, explaining it decided to suspend all business activity with Russia due to the ‘horrific attacks on Ukraine’.
Major Hollywood studios were among the first to pull their business out of Russia, with Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Entertainment and others cancelling their movie releases in the country.
Tonight with Andrew Marr airs Monday-Thursday from 6-7pm.
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