Halewood Artisanal Spirits has said it is moving the production of its JJ Whitley Vodka range from St Petersburg back to the UK.

The company said in a statement that it is “100% opposed to the Russian army invasion of Ukraine”.

“We have expressed our support to our Ukrainian customers, our largest export market,” the statement continued. “We are moving production of the JJ Whitley Vodka range back to our distillery in Chorley, Lancashire with immediate effect.”

Halewood also said that out of respect for the situation, it has removed all references to the ‘Remarkably Russian’ campaign across all  JJ Whitley communications.

“Halewood Artisanal Spirits is a family business founded and headquartered in the UK. The JJ Whitley distillery in St Petersburg is 100% owned by Halewood and has no affiliation with the Russian government,” the statement concluded. 

The move follows news last week that retailers, including Co-op and Morrisons, had stopped selling Russian-made vodka – namely Russian Standard.