Britain to ban services helping transport Russian oil

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is seeking to prevent countries from using its services to transport Russian oil unless it is bought at or below a price cap set by Western governments as part of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The British government said on Thursday the ban, which will come into force from Dec. 5, applies to UK services including insurance, brokerage and shipping.

"We've banned the import of Russian oil into the UK and are making good progress on phasing it out completely," finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in a statement. "This new measure continues to turn the screws on Putin's war machine, making it even tougher for him to profiteer from his illegal war."

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by William Schomberg)