Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPolicing minister Chris Philp has faced ridicule after he asked whether Rwanda and Congo were different countries.The conservative minister’s blunder came on Thursday evening as he was being questioned on the government’s controversial deportation policy on BBC Question Time.An audience member asked Mr Philp whether his family members from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) would be sent to Rwanda under the scheme had they been subject to the plans.The member of the public explained the volatile situation between the DRC and Rwanda as he expressed concerns about the idea of Congolese people being sent to a hostile country.Referring to the city of Goma in DRC, he asked: “Had my family members come from Goma on a crossing right now, would they then be sent back to the country that they’re supposedly warring with?”However, the Tory MP seemed unable to grasp that the two countries were separate.“No, I think there’s an exclusion on people from Rwanda being sent to Rwanda,” Mr Philp told the audience.“They’re not from Rwanda, they’re from Congo,” the audience member replied.Mr Philip seemed puzzled, and then asked: “Well … Rwanda is a different country to Congo, isn’t it?”The minister’s bizarre question was met with visible bewilderment from the audience and fellow panellist Labour’s Wes Streeting.Some onlookers were seen laughing while others shook their heads in disbelief.Mr Philp went on to clarify: “There is a clause in the legislation that says if somebody would suffer seriously irreversible harm by being sent somewhere they wouldn’t be sent.”The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill became an Act of Parliament on Thursday after being granted royal assent More

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsEmmanuel Macron has urged Europe to improve its defences and cut red tape as it faces existential threats from Russian aggression and American isolationism.In a nearly two-hour speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Mr Macron claimed the 27-member European Union (EU) was “too slow and lacks ambition” before demanding that the bloc does not become a “vassal of the United States”.“Our Europe is mortal. It could die,” the French president said. “We are not equipped to face the risks. We must produce more, we must produce faster and we must produce as Europeans.”Thursday’s speech was billed by Mr Macron’s advisers as France’s contribution to the EU’s strategic agenda for the next five years. The agenda is due to be decided after the European elections, which will take place in early June.Nationalist right-wing parties, including the French opposition party National Rally, run by presidential rival Marine Le Pen, are currently leading in the polls.Mr Macron hopes his speech will have the same impact as a similar address at the Sorbonne he made seven years ago that prefigured some significant EU policy shifts.Since then, much has changed, with geopolitical challenges including the war in Gaza, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and disputes between China and the United States.His stance on ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin have also shifted in the 26 months since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and his speech on Thursday was centred on the new European security order.Having originally hoped to maintain open lines with Putin in the very early stages of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mr Macron has since become one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine.Vladimir Putin, right, Emmanuel Macron, center, and Volodymyr Zelensky pictured at tge Elysee Palace in Paris in December 2019“The basic condition for our security is for Russia not to win,” he said. “Europe needs to be able to protect what is dear to it alongside its allies … Do we need to have an anti-missile shield or anti-missile system? Maybe.“When we have a neighbouring country that has become aggressive and seems to have no limits and that has ballistic missiles [and has] been innovating a lot when it comes to the technology and the range of these missiles, we see that we absolutely have to set up this strategic concept of credible defence.”His comments come weeks after he called for European countries to be prepared to send troops into Ukraine. Though the remarks were later rolled back, they marked a shift in the French leader’s rhetoric – instead of indicating to Russia what Europe is unwilling to do, Ukraine’s allies should keep all options open.Despite often clashing with Mr Macron on issues of defence, including on whether to send troops to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded positively to the French leader’s latest remarks.“France and Germany want Europe to be strong,” Mr Scholz said. “Your speech contains good ideas on how we can achieve this.”Soldiers of the Czech army are seen during the international Nato military exercise in eastern Germany More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFrench president Emmanuel Macron has denounced Rishi Sunak’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as the politics of “cynicism” and a betrayal of European values. Mr Macron also warned it would be “ineffective”, just days after the scheme – designed to give thousands a one-way ticket to the African country – cleared its final parliamentary hurdle in the UK. Downing Street hit back, saying its approach was the “right one” and that other countries around the world were exploring “similar options”. The home secretary James Cleverly also spoke out against “lazy” and “distasteful” criticism of the policy, but insisted he was not talking about the president’s remarks. Leading lawyer and cross-bench peer Alex Carlile, who fought hard against the policy in the Lords by pushing for amendments to improve the bill, told The Independent: “These are fair comments by the French president. I agree with him.”Mr Sunak has pledged to get planes in the air to Rwanda by July, a move he argues will create a deterrent and stop migrants trying to reach the UK in small boats. But he has come under intense pressure from the United Nations and others to rethink his plans after five people died off the coast of northern France while trying to cross the Channel earlier this week. Britain pays France millions of pounds to support policing at the French coast, designed to stop migrants setting out on perilous journeys. Former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Independent: “As [Napoleon] Bonaparte said ‘there is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous’ and the president of France is always keen to take such a step.”In a wide-ranging speech on the future of the European Union at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Mr Macron said he did not “believe in the model … which would involve finding third countries on the African continent or elsewhere where we’d send people who arrive on our soil illegally, who don’t come from these countries”.“We’re creating a geopolitics of cynicism which betrays our values and will build new dependencies, and which will prove completely ineffective,” he added.Downing Street said the Rwanda plan was “entirely compliant with our international obligations” and that “our approach is the right one”.“And indeed, we’ve seen other partners and other countries around the world also explore similar options,” a No 10 spokesperson said.Asked about the comments, Mr Cleverly said: “Migration, by definition, is international. And the solutions, by definition, will be international.”Insisting he was not talking about Mr Macron, Mr Cleverly went on to attack the “distasteful” and “lazy criticism” of Rwanda’s role in the partnership.Referring to the African country, the home secretary – who has failed to deny that he previously called the deportation policy “bats***” – said: “It’s not as well blessed with natural mineral resources as some of its regional neighbours. And it is thinking creatively about how it can be part of the solution to a really serious global problem.“And we are entering a partnership with this country. And as part of that partnership, there is a transfer of money.”Mr Cleverly said those arguing Britain should not have “a grown-up commercial relationship with African countries” are in effect saying the UK should see them “exclusively through the prism of aid recipients”.“What message is that sending to developing countries?” he asked.The home secretary also stressed there was “no silver bullet” to solving the small boats crisis. And he insisted the Rwanda asylum scheme was not the centre of the government’s plan to prevent migrants from making the journey.The international row erupted as the Rwanda bill finally became law after weeks of parliamentary deadlock. On Monday, Mr Sunak vowed that the flights would start leaving within 10 to 12 weeks, but the government is braced for a series of legal challenges to the policy, partly from individuals who will argue they are too vulnerable to be deported.The prime minister has promised multiple flights a month to Rwanda, but ministers concede that the number of people sent to Kigali will be small at first. Chartered aircraft are expected to be used, with ministers claiming an airfield has been booked. However, the government has refused to give details of when and where any flights could depart amid fears operators could come under pressure to withdraw.The plan came under fire for unilaterally designating Rwanda a safe country, in a bid to circumvent a damning ruling from the Supreme Court late last year that it was not a suitable place to send refugees.In his speech, the French president did praise the military cooperation between the two countries: “The British are deep natural allies [for France] and the treaties that bind us together… lay a solid foundation.”We have to follow them up and strengthen them, because Brexit has not affected this relationship.”France should seek similar “partnerships” with fellow EU members, he added.He also urged Europe to integrate its defences or risk dying at the hands of Russian aggression and American isolationism.He said the EU is “too slow and lacks ambition” and he didn’t want the bloc to become a “vassal of the United States”.“There is a risk Europe could die,” he said. “We are not equipped to face the risks. We must produce more, we must produce faster and we must produce as Europeans.”Thursday’s speech was billed by Mr Macron’s advisers as France’s contribution to the EU’s strategic agenda for the next five years. The agenda is due to be decided after the European elections, which will take place in early June.Nationalist right-wing parties, including the French opposition party National Rally, led by presidential rival Marine Le Pen, are currently leading in the polls.Mr Macron hopes his speech will have the same impact as a similar address at the Sorbonne he made seven years ago that prefigured some significant EU policy shifts. More

First minister Humza Yousaf’s political future hangs by a thread after the Scottish Greens said they would vote against him in a motion of no confidence.The SNP leader dramatically brought the powersharing deal to an end on Thursday morning (25 April), angering the smaller pro-independence party’s leaders who accused him of “political cowardice”.At a short press conference, co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater confirmed the decision to vote against Mr Yousaf.The Bute House Agreement gave the SNP-led government a majority at Holyrood but it came under strain in recent days after the Greens said they would put the future of the deal to a vote by their members. More

Humza Yousaf and Douglas Ross were embroiled in a heated clash in the Scottish Parliament after the first minister ended the so-called Bute House Agreement underpinning the Scottish government coalition with immediate effect on Thursday, 25 April.The leader of the Scottish Conservative Party later said he would table a motion of no confidence Mr Yousaf, with Mr Ross describing him as “weak” and a “failed first minister”.Mr Yousaf removed Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater from the government, and the SNP is set to act as a minority government going forward.It comes after the Greens were angered when the Scottish government announced it was to ditch a key climate change target. More

Humza Yousaf joked about a “breakup” with the Greens after he ended the so-called Bute House Agreement underpinning the Scottish government coalition on Thursday, 25 April.The first minister denied ending the pact because he did not want the Greens to end it first.As a reporter asked him if his decision was “because it is better to do the breaking up yourself than be dumped,” Mr Yousaf jokingly responded: “I wouldn’t know.”Mr Yousaf removed Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater from the government, and the SNP is set to act as a minority government going forward. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The Scottish National Party brought an end to its three-year power-sharing agreement with the much smaller Greens on Thursday after tensions grew between the two pro-independence parties over climate change policies.Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, informed the Greens he was terminating 2021’s Bute House Agreement, which was signed by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, with immediate effect.The move means Green co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie are no longer part of the Scottish government, and that the SNP will be operating as a minority administration. To get legislation and the budget through Parliament, it will have to rely on votes from other parties. Of Parliament’s 129 seats, the SNP holds 63, two short of a majority, while the Greens have seven.“It is no longer guaranteeing a stable arrangement in Parliament, the events of recent days have made that clear, and therefore, after careful consideration, I believe that going forward it is in the best interest of the people of Scotland to pursue a different arrangement,” Yousaf said a news conference in Edinburgh.Relations between the SNP and the Greens have soured recently, particularly in the last week after Yousaf abandoned a key climate change target, specifically the goal of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030, arguing that it was “beyond what we are able to achieve.”Many members of the Greens were furious at the decision and a vote was planned on whether it would continue to participate in the government. Yousaf denied he was ending the agreement to pre-empt a vote to end the coalition.Green co-leader Slater accused Yousaf of an act of “political cowardice.”“By ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signaled that when it comes to political co-operation, he can no longer be trusted,” Slater said.Slater insisted the Green co-leaders had been confident their members would have backed staying in the government and “continuing our work for Scotland.”The decision to end the agreement also came as the SNP has been rocked by the news earlier this month that Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, has been charged with embezzlement in a probe into the party’s finances.Opinion polls are showing that the SNP, which has dominated politics in Scotland since it came into government in 2007, is facing stiff opposition from the Labour Party in the run-up to the U.K. general election, which will take place sometime in the coming months. If Labour can grab a sizeable chunk of seats in Scotland, it could well be on course to win a majority, even a big one.The next Scottish parliamentary election is not due until 2026.___This story has been corrected to show that a power-sharing agreement was in 2021 not 2001 as previously stated. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Scottish government coalition has collapsed after SNP leader Humza Yousaf ended the so-called Bute House Agreement underpinning it.The decision came after first minister Mr Yousaf called an emergency meeting of the Scottish cabinet to address growing tensions between the Scottish Greens and the SNP.Under the Bute House Agreement, the Greens had two MSPs acting as junior ministers in Mr Yousaf’s government.Humza Yousaf (Jane Barlow/PA)But he is now believed to have removed Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater from the government, and the SNP is set to act as a minority government going forward.The Greens were angered when the Scottish Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan announced last week the Scottish Government was to ditch a key climate change target.That, combined with the decision to pause the use of puberty blockers for new patients attending the only Scottish gender identity clinic for children in Glasgow, resulted in the Greens saying last week that they would have a vote on the future of the powersharing deal.Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater became ministers at Holyrood as a result of the Bute House Agreement (Lesley Martin/PA)That vote is expected to take place later on in May – the SNP has now ended the Bute House Agreement. The Scottish Conservatives will lodge a motion for a vote of no confidence in Mr Yousaf. Leader Douglas Ross told MSPs at first minister’s Questions that his party had said from the start that the Bute House powersharing agreement between the SNP and the Greens was a “coalition of chaos” and that it had now “ended in chaos”.He said: “I can confirm today that on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives I am lodging a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf.”Mr Yousaf said at a press conference that governing as a minority would be “tough”, but that the SNP has done so for the majority of its time in power.He promised to continue working with MSPs from across the chamber, and said he has shown “a willingness to work” across the political divide as a minister for several years.He said: “The challenges of yesterday are not necessarily the challenges of tomorrow. And the SNP needs the flexibility to ensure that we move Scotland forward.“As such, I am clear that today marks a new beginning for the government.“I have a clear policy agenda that I wish to take forward… I am working tirelessly to build a strong sustainable economy, which works for everyone to strengthen our NHS and other public services.”He was quizzed about the statement two days ago that he valued the Bute House Agreement and hoped for it to continue.Mr Yousaf said: “I stand by what I have said. I value the Bute House Agreement and what it has achieved, no ifs, buts and maybes.“What this shows is leadership, what it shows is me having the ability to demonstrate leadership.“I will demonstrate what that means in the coming days and weeks. I think it was the right thing to have done, the Bute House Agreement has served its purpose and time for the SNP to navigate the rest of the parliamentary term as a minority government, something we have done very successfully for a number of years.”He said the Bute House Agreement had come to a “natural conclusion”.The deal, which was signed in 2021 and is named after the official residence of the Scottish First Minister in Edinburgh, brought the Green Party into government for the first time anywhere in the UK.It gave the SNP a majority at Holyrood when the votes of its MSPs were combined with those of the seven Greens members, and also made Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater junior ministers in the Scottish Government.Without it the SNP will need to operate as a minority administration at Holyrood, holding 63 of the parliament’s 63 seats. The Scottish Tories hold 31 seats, Labour have 22, the Scottish Greens hold 7 and the Liberal Democrats have 4. The collapse comes at an increasingly challenging time for the SNP, with former chief executive Peter Murrell, ex-first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, having been charged in connection with the embezzlement of SNP funds. Police Scotland confirmed this month that Mr Murrell, who served as the party’s chief executive for 22 years, had been arrested and charged over the investigation. Ms Sturgeon was arrested two months after her husband was first arrested in April last year, while former party treasurer Colin Beattie was also arrested last year. Both were released without charge, pending further investigation.Ahead of the coalition’s collapse, high-profile figures in the SNP, such as former leadership candidate Kate Forbes and party stalwart Fergus Ewing, have previously called for the deal to be ended.Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater were seen to walk out of Bute House before 8.30am.Their party said last week it would hold a vote on the future of the Bute House Agreement in which the Greens were junior partners to the SNP in government.Ms Slater accused the SNP of “selling out future generations” by walking away from the Bute House Agreement.Confirming the end of the cooperation agreement she said: “This is an act of political cowardice by the SNP, who are selling out future generations to appease the most reactionary forces in the country.”They have broken the bonds of trust with members of both parties who have twice chosen the co-operation agreement and climate action over chaos, culture wars and division. They have betrayed the electorate.”And by ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signalled that when it comes to political cooperation, he can no longer be trusted.”In just a few weeks time our own members were to have a democratic say on endorsing the co-operation agreement.”She also called on SNP members who care about the climate, trans rights and independence to switch to the Scottish Greens. Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said the scrapping of the Bute House Agreement highlights how “inept” Mr Humza Yousaf is. Mr Hoy said: “The collapse of this toxic coalition is an utter humiliation for Humza Yousaf, who hailed it as ‘worth its weight in gold’ and continued to back it to the hilt right until the end.“The First Minister’s judgment is so poor that he couldn’t see what a malign influence the anti-growth Greens have been in government and his authority so weak that he was bounced into this U-turn by his own MSPs.“It beggars belief that the Greens were invited into government in the first place – but even more astonishing that Humza Yousaf allowed them to call the shots on issues like abandoning oil and gas, further delays to dualling the A9 and A96, devastating fishing curbs and gender ideology.“Humza Yousaf’s year as SNP leader has been a disastrous mix of scandals, infighting and policy U-turns. The collapse of the powersharing pact he staked his reputation on is not just humiliating, it highlights once again how inept and out of his depth he is.” More