According to the deputy prime minister, Russian elites' property might be taken and handed over to Ukrainian refugees.

Dominic Raab made the remarks as he defended the UK's stance on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The prime minister called for an emergency UN conference in response to a Russian strike on a Ukrainian nuclear power station.

When asked on LBC radio whether Britain might seize property belonging to Russian oligarchs in retaliation for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Raab responded, "Yes, if we have the evidence and the legal basis."

When asked whether he would support utilizing those properties to shelter Ukrainian refugees — a plan sponsored by the Liberal Democrats and lobbied for in government by housing minister Michael Gove - Raab responded: "Yes."

"We are looking at everything holistically; this is a collaborative effort spanning government, from the foreign and defence secretaries to Michael Gove, and, of course, the prime minister is driving this very hard."

The UK government has come under fire for being too slow in enforcing sanctions against Russian officials and their associated assets.

Labour leader Anneliese Dodds said the UK needed to "stop dragging its feet" in clamping down on funding related to Putin.

"I would certainly argue that we have been far too lenient, particularly in the last decade, on those funds coming from Putin-connected oligarchs and business people," she told Sky News.

"We see, even with the new measures that have been extracted from the government and are scheduled to be announced on Monday, an 18-month window before they take effect – that is simply not good enough," she continued.

"We require immediate action. We believe we can establish those foreign-owned property registrations in 28 days and demand that transparency."

However, Raab stressed that the UK was "at the forefront" of putting sanctions on money tied to the Kremlin.

When asked why the European Union sanctioned more Russian elites than Britain in aired interviews, he replied on BBC Breakfast that it was a "false distinction" to make, adding: "The issue is not whether it is individuals or companies – it is where the money is flowing."

Separately, he stated: "There has been a persistent narrative that the UK has been slow - we have not been.

"We have been at the forefront of action, and what is most critical is that we act in concert with our allies, European, American, and other Nato allies."