Meanwhile, a number of councils have said they want to end contracts with Gazprom and are considering their links to other Russian suppliers.

It comes after it was revealed councils spent £30 million with Gazprom in the five years between 2016 and 2021, totalling eight per cent of local government spending on gas supplies, according to analysis by Tussell.

A Manchester City Council spokesman said their contract with Gazprom expires at the end of the month, adding that they are “looking at alternative gas providers”.

The council was one of the top six buyers over the period, totalling £4 million. Suffolk County Council was the largest buyer with £5 million, and the council said it was working on other options.

Matthew Hicks, the leader of Suffolk County Council, said: “When Vladimir Putin made the immoral and utterly reprehensible decision to invade Ukraine, I instructed officers last week to review our contract with Russian-owned energy company Gazprom.

“I can confirm that we have decided to invoke our options to break away from the contract, ending our connection with Gazprom. Working with our partners, we are actively pursuing this outcome.”

But Slough Borough Council, which confirmed it does have a contract with Gazprom, said: “Unfortunately it is not possible to say at the current point whether we will be continuing with it or not.”

Dorset Council is due to consider the “indirect exposure” it has to Russian companies through pension fund investments, at a meeting of its pension fund committee on March 10.

Derby City Council said it is aware that its energy supplier, TotalEnergies, owns a 20 per cent stake in the Russian gas producer Novatek, but that it has confirmed that TotalEnergies, which is supportive of sanctions in place, will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia.