UK Politics

Rishi Sunak has distanced himself from Boris Johnson’s controversial comparison of the Ukraine war with Brexit, saying the two situations are “not directly analogous”.Mr Johnson’s comments in a speech to the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool sparked fury, with one European statesmen branding it “disgraceful” and another describing it as offensive to those fighting the Russian invasion.There were calls for the prime minister to be excluded from next week’s European Council meeting, when Mr Johnson is hoping to join EU leaders to discuss the Ukraine crisis with US president Joe Biden.In an awkward exchange on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the chancellor declined to repeat the parallel made by the prime minister, insisting that Mr Johnson himself had not intended to draw a direct comparison.“I don’t think those two situations are directly analogous,” said Mr Sunak. “Clearly they are not directly analogous and I don’t think the prime minister was saying they are directly analogous.”Mr Sunak was shown footage of Mr Johnson’s speech, in which the PM said that the world faced a moment of choice between “freedom and oppression” and criticised those who believe it is necessary to “make accommodations with tyranny”.He continued: “I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time.“When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don’t believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It’s because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself.”His comments – apparently drawing a parallel between membership of the EU and Russian “tyranny” – came just days after Ukraine officially applied for EU membership.Asked whether he would have used the prime minister’s words, Sunak indicated he would not, adding: “I don’t think the prime minister did either.”Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves called on Mr Johnson to apologise for his “crass” remarks.Ms Reeves told Ridge on Sunday: “It is utterly distasteful and insulting to compare the fight for freedom against the aggression of the Russian state to the decision to leave the EU.“It is insulting to the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for their very freedom and their very lives, and it is insulting to the British people as well.“If the prime minister didn’t mean that analogy, he shouldn’t have made it and he should take those words back and apologise to the Ukrainian people and the British people for those crass remarks.” More

Boris Johnson has sparked fury by comparing the war in Ukraine to Britain’s vote to leave the EU, with one European statesmen branding it “disgraceful” and another describing it as offensive to those fighting the Russian invasion.There were calls for the prime minister to be excluded from next week’s European Council meeting, when Mr Johnson is hoping to join EU leaders to discuss the Ukraine crisis with US president Joe Biden.Speaking to the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool on Saturday, Mr Johnson said that the world faced a moment of choice between “freedom and oppression” and criticised those who believe it is necessary to “make accommodations with tyranny”.He continued: “I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time.“When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don’t believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It’s because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself.”His comments – apparently drawing a parallel between membership of the EU and Russian “tyranny” – came just days after Ukraine officially applied for EU membership.Vladimir Putin, who was one of the few world leaders to applaud Brexit, has attempted to justify his invasion in part as an attempt to prevent the extension of multilateral voluntary membership bodies like the EU and Nato to Russia’s borders.Former European Council president Donald Tusk said: “Boris Johnson likens Ukrainians’ fight to British people voting for Brexit.“I can still remember the enthusiasm of Putin and Trump after the referendum. Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense.”And former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt said Mr Johnson’s comments should exclude him from attending next week’s European Council meeting with Biden.“This is truly disgraceful. Despicable,” said Bildt. Any thought of inviting this man to an EU summit should be shelved.”The former prime minister of Finland, Alexander Stubb, said: “Comparing Ukraine’s quest for freedom from Russian aggression to Brexit is about as vulgar as it gets.“Winston Churchill, who understood freedom, must be turning in his grave. Boris Johnson, please stop these nonsensical comparisons.”And former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt, who led the European Parliament’s response to Brexit, said: “Johnson’s comparaison of the courageous fight of Ukraine with Brexit is insane.“Brexit was about undoing freedoms and leaving the EU. Ukrainians want more freedom and to join the EU.”Mr Johnson’s comments also sparked criticism from the Conservative benches at Westminster.The Tory chair of the Commons Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood, said: “If we are to ultimately defeat Putin we require international leadership and unity.“Comparing the Ukrainian people’s fight against Putin’s tyranny to the British people voting for Brexit damages the standard of statecraft we were beginning to exhibit.”And Conservative peer Gavin Barwell, who was Theresa May’s chief of staff during Brexit negotiations, said: “Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn’t in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion, and the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on.”Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said that Johnson was more like John Cleese’s xenophobic hotelier Basil Fawlty than his hero Churchill or the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.“Boris Johnson is a national embarrassment,” said Davey.“His buffoonery contrasts with the courageous leadership of President Zelensky.“To compare a referendum to women and children fleeing Putin’s bombs is an insult to every Ukrainian. He is no Churchill: he is Basil Fawlty.” More

The Ukraine crisis shows Boris Johnson must drop his opposition to a defence pact with the EU to allow the UK to quickly deploy forces around Europe, a Tory group says.The Conservative European Forum (CEF) wants Britain to join projects run by an EU body called Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PESCO) – a bid to create a common defence policy.As a first step, the prime minister should sign up to its Military Mobility project, to ease bureaucracy preventing the quick movement of military personnel and assets, it is arguing.The call comes after the UK rejected a defence and security pact in the Christmas 2020 Brexit deal – and a few days before the prime minister heads to a crucial Nato summit.The Conservatives have long opposed the UK aligning with anything that resembles an “EU army”, a controversy that helped fuel support for leaving the EU.But the CEF said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had underlined the need to “effectively respond to existential threats” and dismissed any fears that integration will “infringe UK sovereignty”.Its report, entitled ‘Keep Calm and Defend Europe’ pushes for a Framework Participation Agreement with the EU and a separate tie-up with the European Defence Agency.The Forum’s chair, former deputy prime minister David Lidington, said: “The report today highlights the changing nature of the EU’s more collective approach to security and defence.“The UK needs to understand these changes and seize on the opportunities that they present.” More

Britons are to be offered a fourth coronavirus vaccination, Boris Johnson has confirmed.The prime minister told the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool: “We’re getting ready for a fourth jab, because we’re going to need it.”Mr Johnson did not give any timeframe for the new inoculation drive, but health secretary Sajid Javid indicated earlier this week that it could come in the autumn, ahead of the winter season when viral infections normally pick up.Clearance has already been given for over-75s and those in vulnerable groups to receive a second booster jab – bringing their total vaccinations to four – this spring. But Mr Javid indicated that no decision had yet been taken by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on extending this to all adults.Mr Johnson’s comment suggests that ministers are now taking JCVI approval as read, because of concerns over the waning effectiveness of previous vaccinations and the rise in infections across the UK.He told his audience of Tory activists: “I hope you’ve all had your boosters. You have? Well we’re getting ready for a fourth jab, because we’re going to need it.”The PM said that the enthusiastic take-up of the vaccine was a mark of the British people’s love of freedom and their desire to shake off the restrictions imposed to rein in the pandemic.“The British population came forward to be vaccinated at such incredible speed voluntarily, unlike many other countries,” said Mr Johnson.“I’m sure it was partly because they wanted to avoid catching Covid – a very sensible thing to do, by the way.“Why did the British people come forward – 90 per cent, entirely voluntarily?“It was because they wanted to get on with their lives. They were fed up with being told what to do, by people like me. We wanted to take back control of our lives.”In an interview with ITV’s Peston earlier in the week, Mr Javid was asked whether the JCVI would recommend the offer of a fourth vaccination to all adults.He replied: “I think at some point they will and they’ve actually been clear, and their most recent advice is that they think that towards the end of this year, maybe in the autumn, there will be a need to give a lot more people a boost, an offer of a boost, but I’ll wait for that advice.” More

Boris Johnson has compared Ukrainian resistance to Russia to Britain voting to leave the European Union, in highly controversial comments at the Conservative spring conference.The prime minister also became the latest in a string of ministers to suggest that the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine should bring a halt to debates in Britain over supposedly “woke” issues like preferred pronouns and the removal of statues linked to slavery.Mr Johnson told activists in Blackpool that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was motivated by a fear that the example of freedom and democracy in a neighbouring country would inspire Russians to revolt against his rule.And, speaking to an audience which included Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, he tried to draw a parallel with the UK vote to leave the EU in 2016, as well as the enthusiastic take-up of vaccines against Covid-19.“I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time,” said Mr Johnson.”I can give you a couple of famous recent examples. When the British people voted for Brexit in such large numbers, I don’t believe it was that they were remotely hostile to foreigners.”It’s because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself.”When Britons came forward to get the Covid jab, “it was because they wanted to get on with their lives, they were fed up with being told what to do,” he said.And he added: “It is the invincible strength of this country that we believe – by and large and within the law – that people should be able to do whatever they want providing they don’t do harm to anyone else. That’s called freedom.”We don’t need to be woke. We just want to be free, and that’s why talented people are fleeing Russia right now. That’s why they’re flocking to the UK.”That’s Putin’s tragedy. There’s a sense in which his disastrous error in Ukraine is itself an argument for democracy and freedom.”Mr Johnson paid a back-handed compliment to the BBC for providing accurate reporting on the situation in Ukraine, while pandering to his Tory audience by suggesting that the publicly-funded broadcaster was giving only “a version” of the truth”Seriously, if Putin had a free press – if he had the BBC on his case – he would have known the truth,” said the PM. “Or a version of it.”Mr Johnson was the last in a string of ministers at the annual gathering to see to use the Ukrainian crisis as a tool in their long-running “culture war” against people arguing for more sensitive use of potentially offensive language and symbols.Shortly before he took to the stage, foreign secretary Liz Truss too had turned her fire on “woke” issues, telling the conference: “We have to be proud of our country and our long-standing commitment to freedom and democracy.“Now is the time to end the culture of self-doubt, the constant self-questioning and introspection, the ludicrous debates about language, statues and pronouns.“Our history, warts and all, is what makes us what we are today. We live in a great country, a great democracy and we should be proud of it.“When we are facing tyrants like Vladimir Putin, the only thing he understands is strength. We need to stand up for our society. We must never let our guard down again.”And Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Ukraine crisis was “a reminder that the world is serious, and that there are serious things to be discussed and serious and difficult decisions for politicians to take, whether this is about reopening and having new licences for oil wells in the North Sea, or whether it is about getting away from the wokery that has beset huge sections of society”.Conservatives should refuse to adopt “socialist” language like saying “chair” instead of “chairman” and go back to saying Peking rather than Beijing, said Rees-MoggIn the aftermath of Putin’s invasion, “all that nonsense is shown up for the trivial nature of it”, he said.“We should be robust about how we use language. If we just cede the ground, then wokery advances.“But when serious things happen and wokery is in retreat, we should make these arguments.” More

The West must “never again” prioritise imports of cheap goods from authoritarian states over the demands of freedom and security, foreign secretary Liz Truss has said.In a speech to the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool, Ms Truss linked the UK’s boycott of Russian oil with the exclusion of Chinese telecoms giantHuawei from the phone network as she said that the West needed to end its “dependency on authoritarian regimes”.And she appeared to make a merit of the failure to make headway in a once-desired trade deal with China by saying that post-Brexit Britain was choosing to strike deals “with our allies, not our opponents” and pointing to the Aukus pact which gives Australia defence forces access to nuclear-powered submarines.Ms Truss also echoed the suggestion of Jacob Rees-Mogg that the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine should make Britons cease debtes over supposedly “woke” subjects like preferred pronouns and statues commemorating slave traders.“We have to be proud of our country and our long-standing commitment to freedom and democracy,” said the foreign secretary.“Now is the time to end the culture of self-doubt, the constant self-questioning and introspection, the ludicrous debates about language, statues and pronouns.“Our history, warts and all, is what makes us what we are today. We live in a great country, a great democracy and we should be proud of it.“When we are facing tyrants like Vladimir Putin, the only thing he understands is strength. We need to stand up for our society. We must never let our guard down again.”Ms Truss appeared to indicate that she hopes the current sanctions on Russia will lead to a long-term move away from sourcing cheap commodities and goods from countries with questionable records on human rights and democracy, such as China.“We’re ending our dependency on authoritarian regimes,” she said.“The West focused on cheap goods at the expense of freedom and security – never again.“We’re banning Russian oil from our market. We’ve written Huawei out of our phone network. And we have new vigilance in our critical supply chains.”Ms Truss said: “We have seen the most horrific, horrible things in Ukraine. We have seen a war in Europe for the first time in decades. And we’ve seen incredible bravery from the Ukrainians and deeds of valour that will be written about for generations to come.“Britain has stepped up. Now we must do even more. Putin must lose in Ukraine. With Britain at the forefront, we will ensure he does.” More

Vladimir Putin is panicking about the prospect of being overthrown by a revolution in Russia inspired by the example of freedom and democracy in Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said.The prime minister said that Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine was prompted by terror at the idea of Russians following the example of their neighbours. And he warned that the war created “a moment of choice” for the entire world between freedom and oppression, with victory for Putin ushering in a “new age of intimidation” across the whole of eastern Europe and giving a green light for autocrats around the globe to use force to bully smaller countries.Speaking to the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool, Mr Johnson said that a victorious Russian president would not stop at occupying Ukraine, but would also end any hope of freedom in countries like Georgia and Moldova.The prime minister accepted that standing up to Moscow and boycotting Russian oil meant economic pain for Britain, but said: “There is a cost to these actions but the cost of doing nothing would be far, far higher.”In a hint that chancellor Rishi Sunak may offer support for families struggling with energy prices in Wednesday’s mini-budget, Mr Johnson said: “We need to do everything we can to help people with their daily costs, help people with the cost of living.”Mr Johnson dismissed Putin’s purported fears of Ukraine joining Nato and stationing missiles on its soil as a justification for invasion, along with his “Nostradamus meets Russian Wikipedia” essay challenging the existence of a separate Ukrainian people. Instead, he said, the Russian president’s true motive for his brutal assault was his fear that Russia’s people would want to follow Ukraine’s example of free elections and free speech.Putin is terrified that the Russian people will take to the streets to demand democracy and remove him from power, following the example of the pro-democracy Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and Orange Revolution in Ukraine the following year, he said.“Ukraine has a free press and in Ukraine they have free elections,” said the prime minister. “With every year that Ukraine progresses – not always easily – towards freedom and democracy, he fears the Ukrainian example and he fears the implicit reproach to himself.“In Putin’s Russia, you can get jailed for 15 years for calling the invasion an invasion. If you stand against Putin in an election, you get poisoned or shot.“It is precisely because Ukraine and Russia have been so historically close that he has been terrified of the effects of that Ukrainian model on him and on Russia.“He is in a total panic about a so-called ‘colour revolution’ in Moscow itself, and that is why he is trying to snuff out the flame of freedom in Ukraine.“And that is why it is vital that he fails, because a victorious Putin will not stop in Ukraine.”Mr Johnson assured Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko – who was present in Blackpool and earlier won a standing ovation from delegates – that: “We stand with the Ukrainian people and our hearts go out to them.”And he warned: “The end of freedom in Ukraine will mean the extinction of any hope of freedom in Georgia and Moldova, it will be the beginning of a new age of intimidation across the whole of eastern Europe, from the Baltics to the Black Sea, and a green light for autocrats everywhere.“This is a turning point for the world. It is a moment of choice – a choice between freedom and oppression.” More

Agreement on the international deal on Iran’s nuclear programme could be reached within 48 hours, a senior participant in talks has said.The revival of the deal first struck in 2005 would pave the way for the end of sanctions on Iran, allowing it to step up oil exports to Western countries seeking to halt their reliance on Russia for energy supplies.Coming just days after the return of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to the UK after six years of wrongful detention, an agreement would mark a further step in the normalisation of Tehran’s relations with the international community.Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney, who acts as United Nations Security Council facilitator at the talks in Vienna, said “the signals are good” for agreement over the weekend.And he said there was “no question” that agreement would lead to renewed oil exports from Iran, reducing upward pressure on energy prices in the West.Mr Coveney told Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are getting much closer to signing a deal.“In fact, some would say that there’s prospects potentially for a deal this weekend.“Iran has a national holiday that starts on Monday that lasts nearly two weeks and so it may well be the case that the political leaders want to get this issue done in the next 48 hours or so, and that’s certainly our hope.”He added: “There’s no question that other countries in the continent of Europe, particularly on the western side of Europe, now want to move away from a reliance on Russian oil, gas and coal.“Having a big player in the market, Iranian crude oil coming back into the market with the removal of sanctions, would be a very attractive prospect in terms of reducing pressure on oil prices.“This means a big oil producer effectively back in the market for providing oil into the US and elsewhere. I think that is an added incentive to try to get a deal done.”The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) was agreed between Iran and France, Germany, the UK, the USA, China and Russia, allowing Tehran to develop a civil nuclear energy programme and avoid sanctions in return for giving up its atomic weapon ambitions. Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018, but the Biden administration has indicated it is willing to re-engage so long as Iran is in compliance with its obligations, and talks have been under way in Vienna since 2021.Mr Coveney cautioned that there was “no certainty” of the deal being revived this weekend.But he said: “There certainly is a possibility now. This deal really was almost done two or three weeks ago, and certainly on the EU side, we’ve been happy with the text of the deal for the last two to three weeks.“It’s really been about trying to get the remaining parties to the JCPOA across the line.”Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused “tension and delay” in the Vienna talks because of Moscow’s concern that international sanctions will prevent it from gaining any benefit from the opening up of Iran, said Mr Coveney.But he said: “That seems to have been resolved in the last few days. We look as if we’re almost there. That’s a good news story when the world needs one and it’s also a reminder that multilateralism can work if there’s patience and determination to get a deal across the line.” More