Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson will shrug off criticism of the UK offer to refugees from Ukraine by calling for an “international humanitarian coalition” to step up help for the country.A six-point “plan of action” must also include delivering more weapons, fresh economic pressure on Vladimir Putin’s regime and wider strengthening of the west’s security, the prime minister will say. In meetings with other world leaders, Mr Johnson will also warn against the “creeping normalisation” of Russia’s brutal actions as it pursues its invasion of Ukraine.Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis should be pursued, but only on the basis of full participation by “the legitimate government of Ukraine”, he will say.The plan will be set out when Mr Johnson welcomes the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, to Downing Street on Monday.The following day, he will host the leaders of the “V4” group of central European nations – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – at the heart of the humanitarian crisis engulfing Europe.The government has been criticised for refusing to waive visa rules to allow fleeing refugees to come to the UK, although it is allowing family members to join Ukrainians already in this country.In contrast, the EU – confronted with one million refugees little more than a week after the invasion – has offered asylum to all Ukrainians for three years.Nevertheless, Downing Street said the first point of Mr Johnson’s six-point plan would be to “mobilise an international humanitarian coalition for Ukraine”.The UK has increased its aid to Ukraine and the region to £220m, No 10 says, and is continuing to supply defensive and lethal weaponry to the country.The prime minister is setting out his plan after a planned mass evacuation of civilians from Mariupol was aborted, after Russia continued shelling the key southern city.Ukraine accused Moscow of breaching a ceasefire designed to allow thousands of people to leave – with civilians also been unable to escape the nearby city of Volnovakha.Protests broke out in Kherson on Saturday, the only big city to have been captured by Russian forces so far.Meanwhile, Putin warned the west that he would regard any no-fly zone over Ukraine as an act of war, after Ukraine’s president condemned Nato for ruling out the move.Mr Johnson will say, in an essay in The New York Times: “Putin must fail and must be seen to fail in this act of aggression.“It is not enough to express our support for the rules-based international order – we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force.“The world is watching. It is not future historians but the people of Ukraine who will be our judge.”The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered.To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page. More

Dominic Raab has dismissed fears that Vladimir Putin will use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine crisis, calling his threats “rhetoric and brinkmanship”.The Russian president alarmed the world by putting his arsenal on high alert – and, overnight, the Kremlin is reported to have claimed that Ukraine is developing a dirty nuclear bomb.But, asked if that suggested Moscow is seeking an excuse to use battlefield nuclear weapons, Mr Raab replied: “I think it is rhetoric and brinkmanship.”The Russian president had “a track record of misinformation and propaganda”, the deputy prime minister said.The comments came as Mr Raab also rejected calls for the UK to make a more generous offer to some of the one million-plus refugees fleeing the conflict as “the wrong thing to do”.The UK has refused to waive visa rules – in stark contrast to the EU, which has offered asylum to all Ukrainians crossing its borders for three years.Mr Raab claimed that extending help beyond family reunions and a sponsorship scheme which has yet to start would mean removing “security checks on those coming from a war zone”,“We have got to look at our security,” he told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday programme – claiming the public opposed greater generosity.“Public support has been incredible, very moving, overwhelming. I think you would start to see that fray,” Mr Raab said.Fiona Hill, a former member of the US National Security Council, is among Russia experts who have warned that Putin is willing to use nuclear weapons.“Every time you think, ‘No, he wouldn’t, would he?’. Well, yes, he would,” she said recently.But Mr Raab brushed fears that an “isolated Kremlin” would reach for its most deadly weapons, saying: “No, I think the debate and rhetoric is just that.”The justice secretary again ruled out imposing a no-fly zone – despite the pleas of Ukraine’s president – which would lead to a “massive escalation” and would fuel Russia’s claims of a war against the West.“We’re not going to get ourselves into a direct military conflict with Putin because that would be a massive escalation, but also that feeds Putin’s narrative,” Mr Raab said.“Putin wants to say that he’s actually in a struggle with the west – he’s not.” No-fly zones are “very difficult, very challenging”, he added.Mr Raab also dismissed Putin’s claim that the sanctions levelled against him and Russia are a declaration of war, calling them “both legally justified but also proportionate.”He warned Russian commanders and Putin’s close associates that they risk being prosecuted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC).“What they do now, whether they give or whether they follow illegal orders to commit war crimes, they will be held to account for it – and they need to know that,” Mr Raab said. More

An emergency law must be passed to stop Russian oligarchs using the notorious UK legal system to threaten and silence critics, Labour has told Boris Johnson.Keir Starmer is stepping up pressure for the government to get tougher with Vladimir Putin’s “rich cronies” with a demand to stamp out so-called “strategic lawsuits against public participation”, or Slapps.The high-cost legal claims are widely seen as a way for the powerful to use the law to intimidate journalists and activists, by burdening them with enormous legal costs.Senior Tories have also called for action – but a crackdown on Slapps is not currently part of the anti-Putin Economic Crime Bill to be rushed through parliament on Monday.Sir Keir called that an “abject failure” that would go down as a “missed opportunity that could cost lives”, arguing that Australia, Canada and 32 US states all have anti-Slapp laws.“We are already behind the rest of the world in enforcing sanctions against oligarchs funding Putin’s murderous invasion of Ukraine,” he said.“We can’t then also give room for them to sue their way out of sanctions, while gagging the UK’s media. ‘Lawfare’ is not the way we do things in this country.”“The Russian leadership is fuelled by a thuggish brutality that we cannot allow to filtrate through his rich cronies to clog up our courts, muzzle our press, and avoid just, fair and effective sanctions,” he addedIn recent days, there have been suggestions that both the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Justice are examining possible reforms.Their concerns are believed to centre on fears that the lawsuits will be used to allow rich Russians with links to Putin or the Kremlin to evade threatened sanctions.But Sir Keir added: “Ukraine does not have weeks to wait for the justice secretary to consult on his options, or the foreign secretary to hear back from her lawyers – with every passing day the threat to civilians grows from Putin’s barbaric shelling.”In a recent Commons debate on the misuse of British courts, Tory MPs David Davis and Bob Seely were among those demanding action on Slapps.Mr Davis warned that people with “exceptionally deep pockets” are able to “threaten, intimidate and put the fear of God into British journalists, citizens, officials and media organisations”.Mr Seely said: “The abuse of UK courts by organised crime, oligarchs and authoritarian states and their wretched proxies is, I believe, a significant threat when it comes to the corruption of the UK legal system.”In response, James Cartlidge, justice minister, agreed that “Slapps represent an abuse of the legal system”, attacking “threatening tactics to silence free speech”.But he told MPs: “We must be cautious to respond to Slapps in a proportionate way that continues our tradition of balancing individual rights with the public good.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has revived the controversy over No 10 lockdown parties, accusing Boris Johnson of breaking the rules and attempting to cover up “wrongdoing”.For the first time since the Ukraine invasion, the Labour leader turned his fire on the prime minister over the scandal – while stopping short of his previous demand for Mr Johnson to quit.Returning to domestic political issues, Sir Keir said the pandemic had left every family “touched by worry or tragedy”, yet they had “followed the rules”.“But, some – and one man in particular – felt that the rules just didn’t apply to him,” he told the Scottish Labour conference. “I refuse to accept that. I refuse to accept the pain and sacrifice of so many British families being cheapened, or laughed at.”Warning that “trust in politics is now at an all-time low”, Sir Keir added: “That’s inevitable, when we have a government that is misleading the public and covering up their own wrongdoing to save the prime minister’s job.”The speech appeared to be a calculated gamble that the public was ready to be reminded of the Partygate row, nine days after political divisions were put on ice by the shock of Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine.Mr Johnson is still waiting to hear whether he will be fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaching his own Covid rules, and for the full Sue Gray report that will follow.A fixed-penalty notice had seemed likely to force him out of Downing Street, but Conservative MPs are unlikely to seek to topple him while war rages in Ukraine.Sir Keir also urged his party to recognise that power will not fall easily into its hands at the next election, despite the current unpopularity of Mr Johnson and his government. “Trust in us declined, too,” he warned, adding: “Too many working people came to see us as far removed from their lives. We put our priorities above theirs; our ideas as more important than their experiences,” referring implicitly to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.Urging his party to leave behind “political purity”, he said: “Our duty to win does mean keeping our discipline. Never losing sight of who it is that we need to convince – working people, and especially those who voted for electoral opponents.“We can win and we can make change, or we can pursue apparent political purity inside this party – but please, make no mistake, we cannot do both.”On Ukraine, the Labour leader again warned the public to be ready to make “sacrifices” to help confront what he called the “imperialist aggressor” in the Kremlin. “But those sacrifices are as nothing compared to the suffering of the people of Ukraine,” he told his audience in Glasgow.Putin “believes the west is too corrupted to do the right thing”, he said, “so we must prove him wrong.” More

Zelensky attacks Nato in nighttime address: ‘People will die because of you’Boris Johnson has said that Russian president Vladimir Putin will “double down” on his invasion of Ukraine and “continue with the destruction”.The prime minister said Western nations needed to respond to Mr Putin’s aggression with an “intensified package” and thanked European neighbours for “delivering support for the Ukrainians and support for the Ukrainian right to self-defence.”It comes as Russia announced a ceasefire in two cities in Ukraine to allow residents to evacuate. In an interview with foreign newspapers, Mr Johnson added: “Putin also underestimated Western unity, and the governments of all the countries represented around this table have really worked together, very effectively, to produce a package of economic sanctions that has had a very considerable effect on Russia.”Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky made clear in a late-night address on Friday that he felt the West needed to do more to defend Ukraine, criticising Nato for its refusal to impose a no-fly zone.Meanwhile, British nationals in Russia whose presence is “not essential” have been told to consider leaving the country, updated travel advice on the Foreign Office website said today.Show latest update

1646484012Cost of living crisis: Snapshot of how biggest squeeze in 60 years is set to batter millions of BritonsMillions of households across the UK are bracing themselves to feel the pain when the cost-of-living crisis deepens next month.Energy bills will skyrocket from 1 April when the current price cap is lifted, while National Insurance Contributions are set to rise four days later. Petrol prices and food costs are all already climbing steeply.Taken together, it all means the country is set to experience the worst financial squeeze in 60 years, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Some 2.5 million families will be plunged into fuel poverty by the spring, the Resolution Foundation think tank predicts. Food banks are already recording unprecedented numbers of visitors.Colin Drury reports.Joe Middleton5 March 2022 12:401646482743British nationals told to leave Russia unless it is ‘essential’ to stayBritish nationals who are still in Russia have been told they should leave if it is not essential they stay in the country.The Foreign Office updated its advice on Saturday to say Britons should use the remaining commercial routes to flee the nation.A post on the Foreign Office website said: “If your presence in Russia is not essential, we strongly advise that you consider leaving by remaining commercial routes.”Joe Middleton5 March 2022 12:191646481715Cost of living crisis: Snapshot of how biggest squeeze in 60 years is set to batter millions of BritonsMillions of households across the UK are bracing themselves to feel the pain when the cost-of-living crisis deepens next month.Energy bills will skyrocket from 1 April when the current price cap is lifted, while National Insurance Contributions are set to rise four days later. Petrol prices and food costs are all already climbing steeply.Taken together, it all means the country is set to experience the worst financial squeeze in 60 years, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Some 2.5 million families will be plunged into fuel poverty by the spring, the Resolution Foundation think tank predicts. Food banks are already recording unprecedented numbers of visitors.Colin Drury has the details.Joe Middleton5 March 2022 12:011646481337PM praises journalists in ‘terrifying and dangerous situations’Boris Johnson has praised British journalists in “terrifying and dangerous situations” after a correspondent was shot and wounded in an ambush near the Ukrainian capital.Stuart Ramsay, chief correspondent at Sky News, was hit by a bullet in the lower back as shooting rained down on a car carrying his crew towards Kyiv on Monday.Camera operator Richie Mockler was also hit with two rounds to his body armour before the team managed to escape and take cover. They were later rescued by Ukrainian police.It is understood that the whole crew, including Sky News’ Dominique van Heerden and Martin Vowles, and local producer Andrii Lytvynenko, are now safe.Shocking footage of the incident was played on Sky News on Friday evening.The prime minister said on Twitter: “The courage of these journalists, putting themselves in terrifying and dangerous situations, is astonishing to watch.“They’re risking their lives to ensure that the truth is told.“Free press will not be intimidated or cowed by barbaric and indiscriminate acts of violence.”Joe Middleton5 March 2022 11:551646480352Ex-Brexit Party MEP under fire for saying Northern Ireland Protocol as bad as invasion of UkraineA former Brexit Party MEP has claimed the EU’s treatment of Northern Ireland is on a par with Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine, sparking criticism.“The only difference is we bowed to the EU without a single shot being fired,” Ben Habib said – stepping up Unionist attacks on the trade rules in the Northern Ireland Protocol.The comments come as Boris Johnson admits he is backing away from triggering Article 16 of the agreement, because it would be wrong to be “talking about this subject” while the conflict rages.Joe Middleton5 March 2022 11:391646479167Boris Johnson suggests fear of ‘brick wall of lawyers’ has stalled sanctions on Roman AbramovichBoris Johnson has pointed to a fear of running into a “brick wall of lawyers” when asked why the UK has not imposed sanctions on Roman Abramovich.Labour has demanded action against the Chelsea football club owner after a leaked Home Office document flagged his “links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activities and practices”.The prime minister had insisted he could not discuss individual cases, but opened up about Mr Abramovich in an interview with various European newspapers.Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has the details.Joe Middleton5 March 2022 11:191646478542British nationals told to leave RussiaBritish nationals in Russia whose presence is “not essential” have been told to consider leaving the country.Travel advice on the Foreign Office website on Saturday said it had been “updated to advise British nationals whose presence in Russia is not essential to consider leaving by remaining commercial routes”.The department said it may not be possible to fly directly to the UK, or via EU countries, but that travelling via the Middle East or Turkey may be possible.Previously, the advice had been that those outside Russia should not travel to the country.The Foreign Office pointed towards “the increased volatility in the Russian economy” as one of the reasons Britons should not go to the country.A post on the Foreign Office website said: “If your presence in Russia is not essential, we strongly advise that you consider leaving by remaining commercial routes.”Joe Middleton5 March 2022 11:091646477526British army vehicles seen in Estonia as UK bolsters Nato ally forcesBritish army vehicles seen in Estonia as UK bolsters Nato ally forcesJoe Middleton5 March 2022 10:521646476327Ukraine ceasefire ‘welcome’ but only a ‘small step’, says Tory MPThe reported temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is welcome but it is only a “small step”, economic secretary to the Treasury John Glen has said.Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Glen said: “The events that are going on in Ukraine are appalling and this is obviously an illegal war that Putin is prosecuting.“But this is welcome, anything that can assist the people of Ukraine the Government will support.“But (the) big picture is that Putin’s aggression shows little signs of abating and the humanitarian crises that are unfolding are appalling and they are entirely his responsibility.“The number of cities that are apparently under threat remain high and the level of the aggression and the nature of the shelling is becoming more and more desperate and indiscriminate as each day goes by.”Get the latest on the Ukraine situation by following our live blog below:Joe Middleton5 March 2022 10:321646474880Putin’s ‘character’ demonstrated by Novichok attack, says Tory MPThe Novichok attack on Salisbury four years ago showed the character of Vladimir Putin, the city’s MP has said.John Glen, who is also the economic secretary to the Treasury, said the invasion of Ukraine was of an “utterly different scale and the humanitarian crisis, the loss of civilian life, is of a completely different scale”.He added: “But in terms of the character of the man, clearly that was demonstrated in what he did to my constituents, the destruction he brought to our way of life here in Salisbury.“But where we are now in the Ukraine is just another manifestation of somebody who is beyond democratic accountability and is prosecuting an illegal war that is going to greatly damage both his people, the economy of Russia, but also the people of the Ukraine’s way of life.”Joe Middleton5 March 2022 10:08 More

Boris Johnson has pointed to a fear of running into a “brick wall of lawyers” when asked why the UK has not imposed sanctions on Roman Abramovich.Labour has demanded action against the Chelsea football club owner after a leaked Home Office document flagged his “links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activities and practices”.The prime minister had insisted he could not discuss individual cases, but opened up about Mr Abramovich in an interview with various European newspapers.“None of us want to live in a country where the state can take your house off you without a very high burden of proof and due process,” he said.“There’s no point saying, yeah, we’re going to go after him, and then you come up against the brick wall of lawyers. So we have to get it right. We’re also trying not to just make this about one individual.”Ministers have also refused to address criticism that the decision not to impose sanctions on Mr Abramovich will allow him to take the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea out of the country.Mr Abramovich, who became a billionaire from privatised oil assets following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has denied having close ties to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.His spokesperson has said he has not done anything that should lead to sanctions. The “net proceeds” from the sale of the football club will go to a charitable foundation to help “all victims of the war in Ukraine”.The government has been criticised for lagging behind the EU and the US in imposing sanctions on Russian oligarchs with property and other assets in the UK.New legislation will now be toughened to allow action to be taken automatically when sanctions have been imposed elsewhere and to limit human rights protections.Foreign Office lawyers had conceded that it could otherwise take “months” to sanction other prominent oligarchs, triggering tensions with ministers.And the government has backed down on allowing 18 months for foreign owners of UK properties to register those homes, cutting the proposed “grace period” to six months.The move still falls far short of the 28 days demanded by Labour, which has warned “Putin’s cronies” will be able to “launder their money out of UK property market and into another safe haven”.But Mr Johnson told the foreign reporters: “Top line of what our package on Monday will do is that the measures that you have against individual oligarchs in Europe will essentially allow us to catch them too.”The prime minister also said there is “plainly more to be done with sanctioning some banks, with tightening Swift” – access to the international payments system.“It feels to me as though Vladimir Putin – and it’s clear from what’s happening – has decided to double down,” he said.“He sees no way out of the cul-de-sac that he’s in, except to continue with the destruction, the pulverising of innocent populations, in innocent European cities. So we will have to respond together with an intensified package.” More

A former Brexit Party MEP has claimed the EU’s treatment of Northern Ireland is on a par with Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine, sparking criticism.“The only difference is we bowed to the EU without a single shot being fired,” Ben Habib said – stepping up Unionist attacks on the trade rules in the Northern Ireland Protocol.The comments come as Boris Johnson admits he is backing away from triggering Article 16 of the agreement, because it would be wrong to be “talking about this subject” while the conflict rages.But Mr Habib, in an “update on defending the Union of the UK” said the prime minister was “watching events from a distance and instituting a few sanctions”, which was no excuse for failing to act.“The parallel between Ukraine and Northern Ireland seems to be lost on Mr Johnson,” the ex-MEP for Nigel Farage’s former party has written.“Admittedly, the EU has not amassed a military force to get its way but its aim with the United Kingdom is the same as Putin’s with Ukraine.“Both actors wish to exercise influence and control over their targets. They wish to neuter their independence.“Putin’s approach is through military might. The EU’s approach has been through the Protocol.”Mr Habib, the chief executive of First Property Group, said Putin wanted Ukraine to “align itself with Russia” so its “trade benefits Russia more than other countries”.“This is precisely what the EU has achieved in the United Kingdom via the Northern Ireland protocol. The only difference is we bowed to the EU without a single shot being fired,” the open letter states.Steve Peers, Professor in the School of Law at the University of Essex, said: “A treaty which both parties freely entered into (and which Mr Habib voted for!) is not remotely comparable to a murderous invasion.”The UK had insisted the EU must agree progress towards easing the trade barrier the Brexit deal created in the Irish Sea by late February – but abandoned the deadline when the Ukraine invasion was launched.In a new interview with European newspapers, the prime minister laughed when asked if he will “not be talking about Article 16 in the next months”.“I think that it is something that we could solve with goodwill and common sense,” Mr Johnson said.But he added: “It really feels pénible to be talking about this subject now” – a French word meaning uncomfortable or distressing.Steve Baker, a senior Tory MP, has also criticised the UK’s shelving of the Protocol controversy because of the Ukraine crisis, in a speech to East Belfast Conservatives.“Any suggestion that Putin has vetoed action to restore our constitutional settlement is outrageous. Brexiteers, rightly, would be shamed into silence if we attempted this ludicrous argument in reverse,” he said.“Violence doesn’t have a veto. Liz Truss must act now to keep promises made to Northern Irish and Conservative MPs.” More

A pledge to stop Vladimir Putin’s allies sending children to UK private schools and universities will be undermined by “glaring loopholes” in legislation, MPs and campaigners fear.The alarm is being raised over likely gaps in the rules that could allow sanctioned individuals to make payments through shell companies, or from places which are not imposing sanctions on Russia.The fears come amid confusion over when the measure – promised by the government more than one week ago – is coming into force and how it will operate.Schools and other education institutions are not covered by money laundering regulations and are therefore not required to carry out checks on the source of their clients’ wealth.The Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said private schools are “being used as a weapon by our enemies” and that she feared the crackdown will fail to stamp out the use of “ill-gotten gains”.“I’m very aware of the precedent of people with great wealth paying their school fees through shell companies, through alternative organisations, or even with cash,” she told The Independent.“We are now putting financial sanctions in place to cut off these dirty roubles, but my fear is that they are going to be able to play the system easily.“If these people are happy to sit back and let the children of Ukraine be blown up, they should not have their children at our schools, which they see as a fast-track to Oxbridge.”The organisation Spotlight on Corruption echoed the concerns that front organisations in tax havens are used to pay school fees – allowing sanctions to be dodged.“There are likely to be some pretty glaring loopholes that will make it easy for individuals to get around this,” said Susan Hawley, the group’s executive director.“Our understanding is that, if someone pays from a bank account outside of the UK or another jurisdiction with sanctions, then it will not be sanctioned money when it is received by the school.”More than 2,300 Russians are thought to go to private schools in the UK, which have long been viewed as a way for the country’s super-rich to achieve “legitimacy” in top circles.When Boris Johnson announced sanctions within hours of the invasion of Ukraine, officials said schools and universities would be banned from taking part in transactions with individuals targeted.On 13 have been sanctioned so far – drawing criticism of the pace of action – but No 10 has said that many, many more will be in the weeks to come.MPs were told the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, would be responsible for making the crackdown watertight, but The Independent understands his department is not involved in drawing it up.The Independent Schools Council is also waiting to hear details of how the sanction is to be enforced, it is understood.The campaign group Transparency International has highlighted how shell companies are used to fund places at top private schools and leading universities.Its investigation found 492 payments worth £4.1m made to 177 different UK educational institutions, all from firms with accounts at banks that have since been closed down by authorities.Because the institutions are not required to carry out transaction checks, it falls to the banks involved to ascertain where the money is coming from, Transparency International says.“Whether it’s those with Kremlin connections or individuals accused of corruption, sending children to private schools can be a stepping stone towards integrating into the British establishment and laundering reputations,” spokesman Ben Cowdock warned, earlier this year.Ms Kearns added: “Private schools are not competent to monitor for money-laundering – nor should they have to – but they are now being used as a weapon by our enemies.”The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been asked to set out how the legislation will operate in relation to private schools and universities. More