Slash speed limit on UK motorways to save fuel and help beat Putin, Richard Branson says

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Sir Richard Branson has called for the speed limit to be slashed on UK motorways to reduce the west’s reliance on Russian energy and help defeat Vladimir Putin.

The Virgin Group founder proposed the government should cut the national speed limit from 70mph to 60mph so drivers use less fuel and decrease the dependency on Russian oil, gas and coal in a bid “to support Ukraine”.

He also suggested businesses and individuals could make small changes such as turning down their heating or air conditioning by 1 per cent to help reduce demand.

Sir Branson told CNBC: “It’s really important that we get rid of our dependence on Russian oil, gas and coal. And we must do that immediately. And we cannot continue to send billions of dollars to Russia to fund their war.

“If we can reduce the west’s dependence on fuel, by, say, just 10 per cent, that will free up something like 3 billion barrels of fuel and that will be plenty to make sure that countries like Germany do not have to import any more.”

He added: “The ways we’re suggesting you go about that is encourage everybody to reduce the speed they drive their cars.

“Now, if everybody did it by 10mph throughout the IEA countries, that would reduce sufficient amount of fuel to sort out those countries who are importing fuel from Russia.

“At the same time, it would have the beneficial effect of driving the price of fuel down, because everybody is paying far too much for their fuel at the moment.”

The billionaire, who has an estimated net worth of $5bn (£3.8bn), also called on airlines to consider cutting flights – although he stopped short of outlining how the Virgin Group’s companies, including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic, would reduce their own fuel consumption.

He said: “If you’re an airline, maybe [cutting] a couple of routes that are not making a lot of money.

″[If] you spread it out across all businesses and everybody around the world, the price of oil would come down dramatically and we would not have to continue to send checks to Putin anymore and hopefully it would help bring an end to this war quicker.”

Sir Richard also urged the west to ramp up deliveries of military aid to Ukrainian forces.

Earlier this month the European Union approved fresh sanctions against Russia, including a historic embargo on coal imports. The EU said it has been working on a round of sanctions against Russia which would include oil imports.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has warned the west that paying for Russian gas and oil helps Russian president Vladimir Putin to finance his war.

The US has already imposed bans on Russian oil, gas and coal imports while the UK declared a Russian oil boycott to be complete by the end of 2022.

Boris Johnson is expecting to seal new collaborations on defence and green energy in India as he seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and military equipment.

During a two-day trip to the country, the prime minister is expected to encourage Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to loosen ties with Mr Putin’s Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

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