Sir Robert Edward Russell (born 31 March 1946) is a former Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the Member of Parliament for Colchester from 1997 to 2015.

[citation needed] Russell was the Liberal Democrats' spokesman on Culture, Media and Sport from 2002 to 2005, when he was replaced by Don Foster.

[6] Russell is known for supporting unusual causes, such as petitioning the House of Commons for the return of Young's bitter to the Strangers' Bar.

[9] In December 2010, a reply that Russell wrote to a constituent who was concerned about the cost of the upcoming Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was published.

[10] In 2011, he followed this up with a contentious letter to a member of the public who had asked whether he would lend support to Colchester's new Visual Arts Facility (later to become Firstsite).

"[12] In 2012, Russell was found to have broken parliamentary expenses rules after claiming more than £70,000 over seven years for an office owned by a company in which he was a major shareholder.