Behind the glass-paned curve, desks stand bare. They used to house traders, employed by one of the most powerful energy companies in the world, negotiating the deals that resulted in cargoes of liquefied natural gas arriving in Britain. But now the chairs are empty.

It wasn’t long ago that Russia’s Gazprom had one of the biggest energy trading teams in the City. But soon the gas giant will announce plans to pull out of the West as relations with the British Government sour. The rumoured move to St Petersburg may have been decided before the alleged Kremlin kill-order to poison a double agent in Salisbury, but it is now a gesture loaded with menace.

Freezing Siberian storms and even frostier relations with the Kremlin have left Europe pondering its co-dependent relationship with Russia in which both are bound by an economic addiction to fossil fuels.

Russia supplies a third of Europe’s gas, and the flexing of energy market muscle is a consistent tactic in the country’s geopolitical playbook.

Britain may say it is out of reach of Russia’s energy grip, but it sounds increasingly hollow after a winter marked by multiple gas price shocks. Whether the UK imports gas directly from Russia or not, its close links to European markets mean our gas bills could take a hit regardless.