Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would prohibit the sale of tobacco to people born after 1 January 2009 and restrict sale of vapes, is debated in parliament on Tuesday 16 April.MPs will discuss and vote for the first time on government plans to stop young people from ever smoking.Rishi Sunak sees the bill as a key part of his long-term legacy as he bids to “stamp out smoking for good”.However, the prime minister is set to face opposition to the legislation from within his own party.The bill has attracted condemnation from senior Conservatives including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who argue it impacts upon people’s freedoms.England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has rejected those “pro-choice” arguments and suggested resistance to the plan was “surprising”.Mr Sunak has granted his MPs a free vote on the issue later on Tuesday, with several expected to reject the plan – although with Labour supporting it, the measure is likely to comfortably clear its first House of Commons hurdle. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak will give Rwanda £50m as soon as his flagship deportation bill becomes law, the Home Office has admitted.With the bill expected to gain royal assent this week, the UK will send Kigali the latest payment of cash despite no migrants having been sent to the east African nation.The policy is designed to let the government deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, by deeming the country “safe” in British law, with the government expecting initial flights to take off in the coming months.But just a handful of migrants are expected to be sent to Rwanda before the general election, expected this autumn.Appearing before the House of Commons public accounts committee, Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft said Britain would hand Rwanda the £50m sum “as soon as we have royal assent”.Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda scheme will head back to the Lords on Tuesday (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak’s plans to stop young people from ever smoking risk making smoking cooler, a Tory MP has warned.If passed, the tobacco and vapes bill would prevent anyone who turns 15 this year, or younger, from ever being able to legally buy tobacco products in England. It will be debated in parliament for the first time on Tuesday.But Conservative MP Simon Clarke said he is “both sceptical and downright opposed” to the plans, claiming they could help create a black market. He said: “There are good ways to tackle a problem like this and then there are bad ways, and I think that an outright ban risks being counterproductive.“I think it actually risks making smoking cooler, it certainly risks creating a black market, and it also risks creating a unmanageable challenge for the authorities.”Sir Simon said education and the tax system should be used as tools to deter people from smoking.Sir Simon has previously called for Mr Sunak to go before the election (Danny Lawson/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer prime minister Liz Truss has endorsed Donald Trump to win this year’s US presidential election. Ms Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, said the “world was safer” under Trump’s presidency as she criticised incumbent Joe Biden. The former PM, who was in office for 49 days, suggested it “has to be” Trump following the US presidential election due to take place in November.“I don’t think (President Joe) Biden has been particularly supportive to the United Kingdom. I think he’s often on the side of the EU. And I certainly think I would like to see a new president in the White House,” she told LBC. Read the latest updates on Truss’s new book hereMs Truss claimed the former president’s economic policies “were actually very effective”, adding: “He cut regulation, he cut taxes, he liberated the US energy supply. And this is why the US has had significantly higher economic growth than Britain.. In foreign affairs, he was more effective at preventing aggressive regimes expanding and I think we’d be in a different position if he got re-elected in 2020.”She doubled-down on these comments, telling the BBC: “I do agree that under Donald Trump when he was president of the United States, the world was safer.“I want to work with fellow conservatives to take on what I believe is a real threat of Western society and civilization being undermined by left-wing extreme ideas.”However, Ms Truss added she doesn’t agree with “absolutely everything he’s ever said”. Liz Truss speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February More