Cameron warns US politicians against ‘appeasement’ of Putin’s Russia
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Lord Cameron has warned against the “appeasement” of Vladimir Putin and Russia as he stepped up calls for the US to release billions of dollars of new military aid for Ukraine.
In a message aimed at Donald Trump and his Republican allies, the Foreign Secretary said a stalled US funding package could make the “decisive difference in getting Ukraine back on the front foot”.
Lord Cameron, who met presidential candidate Mr Trump for private talks during his trip to the US this week, insisted the only way to end the conflict was by backing Ukraine rather than allowing Russia to keep the territory it has occupied.
Mr Trump, who hopes to return to the White House following November’s US election, is reportedly ready to pressure Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region as a price for peace with Russia.
But Lord Cameron told CNN during his visit to Washington DC: “Everyone wants to see an end to the killing and an end to the war. But you only get that by backing Ukraine, by showing strength. Peace comes through strength, not through appeasement and weakness.”
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04:00 PM BST
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03:40 PM BST
Half of Tory voters want to quit European Convention on Human Rights
Half of Conservative voters believe the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights, an opinion poll for The Telegraph has revealed.
Some 49 per cent of people who backed the Tories at the 2019 election want to quit the convention, according to the Savanta polling, with 35 per cent wanting to stay. The rest did not state an opinion.
Support for the move among Tories is higher than among the wider population and much higher than among Labour voters, just 14 per cent of whom would want to walk away.
You can read the full story here.
03:15 PM BST
Slash benefits to get more men into work, urges IMF
Cutting benefits and taxes could help solve the global worklessness crisis by encouraging more men into jobs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
More training and childcare support would help more women into work, while higher pension ages can keep more older people in jobs.
It comes amid fears Britain is being held back by the 9.25 million adults of working age who are economically inactive – those who are neither in work nor looking for work.
You can read the full story here.
02:58 PM BST
Britain still a ‘great country for Jewish people’, says Cameron
Lord Cameron told Fox News that the UK is a “great country” for Jewish people, after being shown images of mass pro-Palestine protests on the streets of London last week, writes Tony Diver.
He said that “people are entitled to make those opinions” but should do it “within the law and should choose their words carefully”.
“I would say that Britain is still a great country for Jewish people to live in,” he said. “The Jewish population makes an amazing contribution to our country and of course, Britain is a very strong defender of Israel.”
He added: “Of course, we’re a country under the rule of law and we believe all countries should obey the rule of law. And Israel has to think very carefully about how it makes sure aid gets into Gaza.”
02:47 PM BST
Cameron: I don’t look forward to conversations with Iran
Lord Cameron has rejected calls for the UK Government to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), arguing that maintaining diplomatic relations with Iran allows him to deliver messages to Tehran directly, writes Tony Diver.
Speaking to Fox News on a trip to Washington DC, the Foreign Secretary was asked why the UK would not follow the US in proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
“We haven’t proscribed or broken relations with the Iranian government altogether,” he said. “As the Foreign Secretary, it’s not a conversation I look forward to, but the fact is I have relations with the Iranian foreign minister.
“I can deliver very direct messages to him about the unacceptable behaviour of his country. And frankly, as a Foreign Secretary, I’d rather do that myself than have to ask my French counterpart or my German counterpart to do it on my behalf.”
He added that the UK is “absolutely clear about the threat that Iran poses to the region”.
02:40 PM BST
Fewer than 4pc of reports under new SNP hate crime law are actual crimes
Fewer than 4 per cent of reports made under Scotland’s new hate crime law were actual crimes, police figures show.
In the first official statistics published since the law came into force, Police Scotland said that it had received 7,152 online hate reports between April 1 and April 7.
However, it said that during the period, just 240 actual hate crimes, around 3.5 per cent of the reports made, had been recorded. A further 30 were recorded as “non-crime hate incidents”.
You can read the full story here.
02:17 PM BST
Lord Cameron warns against ‘appeasement’ of Russia
Lord Cameron said a peaceful resolution in Ukraine could only come about by backing Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces, rather than through “appeasement” of Russia.
The Foreign Secretary said he did not want to see a situation where Kyiv was left without the equipment it needs until November’s US election.
He told CNN: “Without saying what I spoke with Donald Trump, fundamentally, this year – and you heard from Zelensky this morning – there’s a risk that Ukraine will lose more ground to Putin, and no one wants to be in a situation in November, where we could have acted, we could have helped, we could have beaten back Putin, we could have started the process of getting a Ukraine win and getting a just peace but we failed to do that.”
Lord Cameron rejected the idea of a peace deal which would see Ukraine ceding swathes of territory to Russia.
“Everyone wants to see an end to the killing and an end to the war,” he said. “But you only get that by backing Ukraine, by showing strength.
“Peace comes through strength, not through appeasement and weakness.”
01:45 PM BST
Pictured: Cooper, Reeves and Rayner campaign in Yarm, Teesdale
01:30 PM BST
Cameron: US aid package could make ‘decisive difference’ in Ukraine-Russia war
A new US military aid package for Ukraine could make the “decisive difference” in Kyiv’s war against Russia, Lord Cameron said.
The Foreign Secretary is in Washington DC as he tries to persuade US lawmakers to approve new support for Ukraine.
Making the case for the investment, Lord Cameron told MSNBC: “This is actually an investment in American security.
“Ninety per cent of what you spend will go into jobs here in America and you can make the decisive difference in getting Ukraine back on the front foot and getting them to make sure Putin doesn’t win and we get the just peace that Ukraine deserves.”
01:14 PM BST
Lord Cameron not seeking to ‘lecture’ US on Ukraine support
Lord Cameron insisted he was not seeking to “lecture” US politicians by urging them to approve a new military aid package for Ukraine.
But he said countries that “wish us ill will draw a lesson if we don’t stand by Ukraine”.
Speaking to MSNBC during a visit to Washington DC, the Foreign Secretary said: “I am very cautious because foreign politicians shouldn’t come here and lecture people and tell you what to do. That is not what I am doing at all.
“It is really just saying I think there is a real danger to British security, to American security if we allow Putin to win in Ukraine.
“It won’t stop with Ukraine and indeed if we worry as I do about the future of China, if we worry about what Iran is doing, all around the world countries that wish us ill will draw a lesson if we don’t stand by Ukraine.”
01:03 PM BST
Foreign Secretary downplays meeting ‘snub’ during Washington DC trip
Lord Cameron sought to downplay the significance of failing to secure a meeting with Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, during his trip to Washington DC (see the post below at 12.04).
Asked about the snub, the Foreign Secretary told MSNBC: “I had a great meeting with Speaker Johnson the last time I was here and I didn’t have a meeting fixed for this visit.
“Instead I have been meeting and I will be meeting with party leaders in the House. I met former president Trump yesterday, had some great meetings with Secretary of State Blinken…”
12:55 PM BST
Lord Cameron: Israeli promises on aid could be ‘transformational’
Lord Cameron said he believed Israeli promises in recent days on getting more aid into Gaza could be “transformational”.
Speaking on the second day of his visit to Washington DC, the Foreign Secretary told MSNBC: “We do think that Israel must prosecute this war according to rules of humanitarian law and I think that is very important.
“I think what has happened in recent days and all credit to President Biuden for the call he had with Netanyahu, what has happened in terms of getting more aid into Gaza and getting those promises out of the Israelis, I think that could be transformational.
“Yesterday we had more than 400 trucks go in, that is the highest number since October 7. We need more aid, we need to avoid a famine in Gaza.
“But of course we should continue to support the idea that Hamas leaders cannot stay in Gaza. We can’t expect Israel to live next to a terrorist state.”
12:47 PM BST
Pictured: Rishi Sunak is shown CCTV footage of shop lifters at Horsham police station
12:24 PM BST
Sunak ‘confident’ Rwanda scheme will get off the ground
Rishi Sunak said he is “confident” the Government will be able to get its Rwanda scheme “up and running” despite reports of problems with securing planes and the sell-off of accommodation earmarked for asylum seekers.
The Prime Minister told reporters during a visit today: “I’m committed to stopping the boats, we need to have a deterrent so that if people come here illegally, they can’t stay, they’ll be removed. That’s why Rwanda is so important. That’s why I’m determined to see it through.
“First of all, we need to get it through Parliament where the Labour Party has been blocking it for a long time.
“Once it’s up and running, I’m confident we’ll be able to operationalise the scheme, get people on flights, because that’s how we’ll set up a deterrent and ultimately end the unfairness of people jumping the queue, coming here illegally putting pressure on local services, and risking their own lives.”
12:04 PM BST
Lord Cameron set to speak to US broadcasters after ‘snub’
Lord Cameron is on the second day of a two-day trip to Washington DC.
We are expecting to hear from the Foreign Secretary in the next couple of hours as he takes part in a number of interviews with different US broadcasters.
His trip suffered a setback last night after it emerged he had been snubbed by the most senior Republican in the US House of Representatives who is refusing to meet to discuss approving a new aid package for Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary said last week he was going to meet Mike Johnson, the House speaker whose party is blocking the support, and urge a change during a trip to Washington DC.
But the attempts of UK officials to lock down the meeting have been rebuffed by Mr Johnson’s office.
11:49 AM BST
Rayner accused of ‘hypocrisy’ over refusal to publish tax advice on house sale
Angela Rayner faced accusations of “hypocrisy” after it emerged she demanded a Tory candidate publish their tax returns as the Labour frontbencher now refuses to publish the tax advice she received on the sale of her council house.
The Labour deputy leader is refusing to publish the advice she received relating to the sale of the property a decade ago amid scrutiny of her living arrangements.
Senior Tory figures have now highlighted a letter Ms Rayner sent to Amanda Milling, the then Conservative chairman, in April 2021 in which she suggested the party’s Hartlepool by-election candidate should “publish in full her tax returns”.
Sir Simon Clarke, the former Cabinet minister, tweeted that “hypocrisy is the worst of political sins” while Jonathan Gullis, the Tory deputy chairman, said it was evidence of the “same old Labour”.
It was suggested to Ms Rayner during a BBC interview in March that she could clear up questions about the house sale row by publishing the advice she had received.
Asked why she would not publish it, she said: “Because I don’t need to publish all of my details.”
11:32 AM BST
Poll: Labour ahead of SNP in Scotland for first time since independence referendum
The Labour Party is now ahead of the SNP in Scotland for the first time since the 2014 independence referendum, according to a new YouGov poll.
The survey, conducted between March 25 to April 2, puts Labour on 33 per cent of the vote, with the SNP now in second place on 31 per cent.
Labour were up by one point and the SNP were down by two points when compared to the company’s previous survey from October last year.
YouGov said the survey showed “Keir Starmer’s party marginally ahead of their nationalist rivals for the first time since the independence referendum in 2014”.
The SNP had a one point lead over Labour in the October poll, 33 per cent to 32 per cent.
The poll findings represent a boost to Sir Keir’s hopes of winning the next election. Labour won just a single seat in Scotland in 2019, with a resurgence north of the border viewed as a key building block on the path back to power.
11:21 AM BST
Reeves wants HMRC staff back in office to boost customer service
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will demand that HM Revenue and Customs staff return to the office, despite Labour’s policy to make it easier for people to work from home.
Ms Reeves said that millions of pounds of tax were being lost every year because people are unable to speak to someone at the tax office when they ring to ask questions.
Last week, The Telegraph revealed that only 53 per cent of civil servants working in HMRC’s headquarters were at their desks in an average week between January and March.
You can read the full story here.
11:06 AM BST
Rees-Mogg accuses ECHR of ‘green fanaticism’
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused the European Court of Human Rights of subscribing to “green fanaticism” as he argued the UK should leave.
The Strasbourg court sparked a Tory backlash yesterday after delivering a landmark ruling on climate change. It ruled that governments have a duty to protect people from climate change.
Sir Jacob, a former business secretary, said the ECHR “is a political construct that believes itself to be above the law”.
He told GB News: “It is inventing and creating law rather than interpreting law. In other words, the court can make up any old rights it feels like. And this is guided by its own political ideology, one of which turns out to be green fanaticism.
“In this way, the court makes a mockery of rights because it removes that fundamental democratic right of voters to change the law under which they live.
“That’s why it is now time to leave. Our rights have always come from Parliament, not from unelected judges in Strasbourg, who make up the law as they go along.”
10:46 AM BST
Yvette Cooper: Cass Review shows children have been ‘badly let down’
Yvette Cooper said the Cass Review revealed that children have been “badly let down” and Labour accepted all of the report’s recommendations.
The shadow home secretary told Sky News: “The report is very clear that children and young people have been badly let down and have been receiving treatment that’s not based on evidence.
“So I think the Cass Review is really important – we welcome it, Labour accepts all of its recommendations.
“I think they should be implemented now, as swiftly as possible, and we would like to work with the Government on doing that.”
10:32 AM BST
Sunak issues ‘fulsome apology’ to Adidas Samba fans
Rishi Sunak has issued a “fulsome apology” to fans of Adidas Samba trainers after being accused of ruining their credibility when he was pictured in a pair.
The Prime Minister said he has been wearing the German sportswear giant’s classic trainers “for many years”.
In a video posted on social media, Mr Sunak – who claimed he is a “longtime devotee” of the brand – was shown wearing the white trainers during an interview in Downing Street.
British GQ magazine said that “in a bid to present himself as young and hip, Rishi Sunak took an eternally cool sneaker and ruined it for everyone”.
Mr Sunak told LBC: “I issue a fulsome apology to the Samba community. But, in my defence, I would say I have been wearing Adidas trainers including Sambas – and others, in fact – for many, many years.
“The first pair my brother got for me many, many years ago – my first pair of fun Adidas trainers as a Christmas present. I haven’t looked back since. So I’ve been a longtime devotee.”
10:26 AM BST
Sunak insists defence spending will keep the country safe in a ‘less safe’ world
Rishi Sunak said the UK is playing a “leadership” role in Nato despite coming under intense pressure to further increase defence spending.
The Prime Minister has committed to boost spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product but only when the public finances allow, despite pressure from defence experts and his own MPs to go further and faster.
During an LBC phone-in, Mr Sunak was questioned by an Army veteran who urged him to “spend more than the minimum on defence”.
Mr Sunak said: “The world is sadly a less certain and a less safe place and it’s important that we invest to keep the country safe.
“That’s what we’ve been doing… we’ve seen the largest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War. I authorised that as chancellor.”
10:03 AM BST
Sunak refuses to commit to manifesto pledge to leave ECHR
Rishi Sunak has refused to give a commitment that the next Conservative Party manifesto will include a pledge to quit the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr Sunak has previously hinted that he would be willing to withdraw from the ECHR if it blocks the Government’s Rwanda plan.
Asked if leaving the ECHR could be in the Tory general election manifesto, Mr Sunak told LBC: “I am not going to get into the manifesto but I can be very clear and I have been repeatedly that I am determined to see this policy through because I think it is really important for the country, for the security of our borders, for fairness.
“I am not going to get into the manifesto right now but I have been very clear I won’t let a foreign court block our ability to put people on planes and send them to Rwanda.
“We are a reasonable people trying to do a reasonable thing. I’ve come at this very reasonably, we’ve worked hard, we’ve got the numbers down, we’ve done everything right, we’ve passed new laws through Parliament, we’ve addressed everyone’s concerns, but at this point enough is enough.”
09:50 AM BST
Vote Reform and get Starmer as PM, Sunak tells wavering Tory voters
Rishi Sunak has warned wavering Tory voters that all they will achieve by switching to Reform UK at the general election is an increased chance of Sir Keir Starmer becoming prime minister.
Mr Sunak was grilled this morning during a phone-in on LBC by a man who said he had voted Conservative since 1979 but was now backing Reform, mainly because of net zero and immigration.
Mr Sunak said: “Thanks for your support for the party over so many years, that is fantastic. I am sorry to hear about it but all I would say is, next election there is going to be one of two people prime minister at the end of it, me or Keir Starmer.
“On the two issues that you have mentioned you should just come to a view on who you think is more likely to deliver for you.”
He added: “If you vote for Reform all you are going to do is put Keir Starmer in power and then we are going to get no action on those things that you care about.
“Migration is not going to come down, the boats will not be stopped and he will adopt an ideological approach to net zero, reverse the changes I have made and that is going to cost you and everyone else.”
09:33 AM BST
Sunak piles the pressure on Starmer and Rayner over council house sale row
Rishi Sunak claimed Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner had failed to provide “straight answers” to questions about the sale of the Labour deputy leader’s council house.
The Prime Minister sought to apply the pressure to Sir Keir and Ms Rayner as he faced questions over his handling of the William Wragg honeytrap affair.
Mr Wragg last night voluntarily resigned the Tory whip and Mr Sunak was asked this morning why he had not taken action against him after the MP admitted involvement in the scandal.
Mr Sunak was told that Labour had claimed his failure to strip Mr Wragg of the whip showed his “weakness”.
He told LBC: “People can judge me if they want to judge me on that. That is fine, I accept that. When it comes to weakness, Keir Starmer still hasn’t answered any questions properly about what is going on with Angela Rayner.
“When it comes to me and my affairs people are very happy to ask lots of questions including Angela Rayner herself.”
Mr Sunak continued: “Hang on. This is someone who, so far as you believe the media, assumes he is going to stroll into 10 Downing Street later this year and this is the person who would be deputy leader, deputy prime minister of the country, and I think there are very clear questions for her to answer about this.
“He hasn’t answered them. She hasn’t answered them. I think it is reasonable that people get a straight answer on it.”
Ms Rayner has faced questions about whether she paid the right amount of tax on the 2015 sale of her ex-council house due to confusion over whether it was her principal residency.
The Labour deputy leader has insisted she has “done absolutely nothing wrong”.
09:05 AM BST
Not as much progress as I would have liked on cutting waiting lists, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak admitted he has not made as much progress as he would have liked on delivering on his pledge to cut NHS waiting lists.
It was one of the Prime Minister’s five pledges set out in a big speech back in January 2023 but the numbers have remained stubbornly high.
Asked about waiting lists, Mr Sunak told LBC: “Of all the areas that I set out, when it comes to the NHSthat is the place where we have not made as much progress as I would have liked.
“The waiting list today is higher than it was when I took office. Now, if you look at what happened… obviously it was impacted by the strikes and we were actually seeing progress before then.
“But what I am heartened by… we have seen the waiting lists fall for four months in a row now, actually, but by all means we have lots to do.”
08:54 AM BST
Sunak won’t say if Israel legal advice has been updated since strike on aid workers
Rishi Sunak said legal advice on UK arms exports is updated “periodically” but he would not say if it had been updated since last week’s Israeli airstrike which killed seven aid workers including three Britons.
Asked why the UK had not suspended arms sales to Israel, the Prime Minister told LBC: “We review these things regularly according to a very clear process. That happens periodically as it has happened recently and that has led to no change.
“And actually none of our closest allies have currently suspended existing arms licences either. So we continue to discuss these things with our allies.”
Asked if the advice had been updated since last week’s strike, Mr Sunak would not be drawn as he repeated it is updated “periodically”.
He said: “As I said, there is a long standing process. We have one of the strictest export licensing regimes anywhere in the world. Assessments are carried out periodically.”
08:46 AM BST
Netanyahu ‘needs to do more’ to alleviate suffering in Gaza, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak said Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, “needs to do more” to alleviate suffering in Gaza.
The Prime Minister told an LBC phone-in this morning: “It was a shocking tragedy what happened to our veterans when they were doing, selflessly carrying out aid missions into Gaza and I have also said repeatedly the situation in Gaza is increasingly intolerable.
“The humanitarian suffering that people are experiencing isn’t right and Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to do more to alleviate that. I made that very clear to him.”
08:39 AM BST
Sunak: ‘Extreme caution’ must be shown on children transitioning
Rishi Sunak said “extreme caution” needed to be shown on the issue of young people transitioning as he responded to the publication of the Cass Review.
The Prime Minister said the report and its recommendations were “very supportive” of the “direction of travel” already taken by the Government on the issue.
He told LBC during a phone-in this morning: “We need to exercise extreme caution when it comes to these issues. We care above all about the wellbeing of children and it is clear that these things are not neutral acts, whether that is social transitioning, any kind of medical intervention, we simply do not know the long term effects of these things and that is why anyone involved in considering these issues of course have to treat people with sensitivity and compassion but also have to be extremely cautious when it comes to taking any action because we just do not know the impact.
“And that is why I am glad we commissioned the report and I as Prime Minister have been very clear and consistent on this issue, I have taken the same stance throughout.
“The report is very supportive I think of the direction of travel we have taken, particularly in our schools where we have issued guidance recently so that teachers know how to deal with these things…”
08:36 AM BST
Trans treatment will see ‘fundamental change’ in direction, says minister
A minister said there would be a “fundamental change of direction” on gender identity treatment on the NHS as a result of the Cass Review.
Laura Farris, the victims and safeguarding minister, told Sky News: “We began the work on changing it after her interim report was published, but I think that you can expect to see a fundamental change of direction that comes out of this.”
Dr Hilary Cass, a paediatrician, today published her long-awaited review into the support and treatment offered to children who believe they are transgender.
It cautions that extreme care should be taken before anyone under the age of 25 transitions.
