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      Cameron rejects Trump’s ‘peace plan’ as he warns against ‘appeasing’ Putin

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      Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDavid Cameron has rejected Donald Trump’s reported peace plan for Ukraine and warned against ‘appeasing’ Putin just days after his surprise meeting with the former US President to push for extra funding for the war.Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has also slated the idea, to give up swathes of territory to Russia, branding it “primitive”. The foreign secretary said a show of Ukrainian “strength” rather than “appeasement and weakness” would bring the conflict to a halt. Mr Cameron has defended his face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which came after he previously called him “xenophobic, [and] misogynistic”. But he appears to have been snubbed by a key Trump ally, House speaker Mike Johnson, as he meets US politicians to urge them to support Ukraine’s war effort. During an interview with CNN, Lord Cameron said: “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.”Similar language has previously provoked the ire of senior Republicans. Earlier this year, he warned Congress not to show “the weakness displayed against Hitler” in the 1930s.In return right-wing congresswoman and staunch Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene told him to “kiss my ass” and “worry about his own country”.In a message to Republicans, the ex-prime minister also said the money would be good for US jobs and security and show the West was prepared to stand up to “bullies”.Mr Trump, who hopes to become President again in November, is reportedly ready to push ahead with a ‘peace plan’ that would involve pressuring Ukraine to give up Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia, according to the Washington Post. Asked about the idea, Lord Cameron added: “I don’t think we should be discussing those things right now, we should be discussing how do we get Ukraine back on the front foot.”They’ve showed incredible bravery. They’ve showed that they can win against Putin, they’re not going to lose for lack of morale, they’re not going to lose for lack of ingenuity on the battlefield.”The only way they can lose is if we don’t give them the support they deserve.”Lord Cameron said last week that he planned to discuss the funding with Mr Johnson, who must decide when to put the Ukraine package to a vote. But the two men have not met on the trip. Lord Cameron also warned decisions on Ukraine cannot be delayed until after November’s election.”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,” he said. He also urged US politicians not to be taken in by propaganda from Vladimir Putin.Separately, the Ukrainian president warned ceding territory would pave the way for more Russian aggression. “If the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that’s the idea behind it, then it’s a very primitive idea,” Mr Zelensky told Politico.“I don’t need a fantastic idea, I need a real idea, because people’s lives are at stake.” The Trump campaign has been aproached for comment. More

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      Watch: Post Office Horizon inquiry continues as compensation advisor Lord Arbuthnot gives evidence

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      Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom – a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board gives evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry on Wednesday 10 April.The former MP for North East Hampshire spoke a day after lead campaigner and former subpostmaster Alan Bates told the inquiry he believed the Post Office was “definitely trying to outspend us” as part of its “aggressive” tactics at the High Court.Giving evidence in front of Post Office chief executive Nick Read on Tuesday, Mr Bates said the organisation “needs disbanding” and called it a “dead duck” that is “beyond saving”.He also took aim at the government’s “fundamental flaw” of being unable to deal with issues such as the Horizon scandal “easily and sensibly”.The Post Office has come under fire since the broadcast of ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which put the scandal under the spotlight.More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the government-owned organisation and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches. More

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      Post Office inquiry: Labour government dodged concerns over Horizon scandal 15 years ago, says Tory peer

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      Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Tory peer and long-standing advocate for victims of the Post Office scandal has said he raised the issue with the Labour government 15 years ago but received a response that made clear “the government wanted nothing to do with them”. Lord Arbuthnot said he was left frustrated at the reply to his 2009 letter to then-business secretary Lord Mandelson, which asked for subpostmasters’ complaints over the faulty Horizon IT system to be investigated. He said the former Labour government avoided responsibility over the scandal, after receiving a letter from junior minister Pat McFadden which suggested the concerns were instead a matter for the Post Office. Lord Arbuthnot told the inquiry on Wednesday: “It was clear that the government was saying it was nothing to do with them.”Lord Arbuthnot said he was not satisifed with the ‘brush off’ he received from former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells More

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      Rwandan state airline ditches Sunak’s asylum seeker plan over ‘reputational harm’

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      Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailRwanda’s state-owned airline has turned down a proposal to transport asylum seekers to Kigali as part of Rishi Sunak’s controversial flagship scheme to cut immigration.RwandAir, which is owned by the Rwandan government, was approached last year about being part of Mr Sunak’s plan but turned down the opportunity due to fears about reputational harm.A Home Office insider told the Financial Times: “RwandAir said ‘No’ because of the potential damage to their brand.”Mr Sunak has made stopping small boats crossing the Channel one of his core promises to voters but it has been mired in legal difficulties, leading to severe delays in implementing the policy.The Supreme Court ruled against it last year and nobody has yet been sent to Rwanda. Mr Sunak hosted Rwandan president Paul Kagame in Downing Street on Tuesday. A spokesman said: “Both leaders looked forward to flights departing to Rwanda in the spring.”Last week, Mr Sunak said he would be willing to defy orders from the European Court of Human Rights if necessary to implement his Rwanda plan.The meeting took place as Freedom from Torture launched a campaign to pressure carrier AirTanker – which the charity says is in talks to be part of the scheme – to rule themselves out of Mr Sunak’s plan.AirTanker operates the UK’s fleet of aerial refuelling craft, which are also used as passenger aeroplanes. In a post on its website, the charity said: “Right now, it’s being reported that the airline AirTanker are in talks with the government to fly refugees to Rwanda as part of their cruel cash for humans scheme.“This government’s Rwanda scheme flies in the face of international law, the UK Supreme Court and common human decency. It’s cruel, and it’s wrong. We see the terror it’s inflicting on survivors of torture every day in our therapy rooms.“In 2022, AirTanker ruled themselves out of being part of this scheme. It’s time for them to do the right thing again.”The revelation comes just days after reports that properties earmarked for migrants deported from the UK have instead been sold to local buyers in Rwanda.Of the 163 affordable homes on the Bwiza Riverside estate, 70 per cent have been sold, meaning there is only space for a few dozen migrants, the Times reported.The prices of the properties funded as part of a public-private partnership between the Kigali government and ADHI Corporate Group range between £14,000 and £27,000.A manager at the estate said the homes had been sold to “private people who want to live in them”.Labour demanded “urgent clarity” on the Rwanda scheme “farce” following the Times report, calling on the Prime Minister to address it directly while the Commons is away on Easter recess.“Now it seems there will be even less capacity to house those that are removed. The Tories’ so-called plan is unravelling by the day and taxpayers are footing the bill. It’s time for change,” shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said.According to the latest Home Office figures, 82 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Monday, taking the total so far this year to 5,517.AirTanker has been contacted for comment. More

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      Rishi Sunak defends decision not to suspend arms sales to Israel

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      Rishi Sunak has defended the UK’s decision not to suspend arms sales to Israel.Mr Sunak has been under mounting pressure, including from within his own party, to immediately suspend the sale of arms amid a growing chorus of opposition to the number of civilians killed.The prime minister appeared on a live LBC caller phone in on Wednesday (10 April) and defended his decision, stating “none of our closest allies” have stopped existing export licences.Mr Sunak told presenter Nick Ferrari that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “needs to do more” to alleviate the suffering in Gaza. More

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      Watch: Rishi Sunak offers apology for ‘ruining’ Adidas Samba trainers

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      Rishi Sunak has offered an apology for wearing Adidas Samba trainers after being accused of “destroying a fashion icon”.The prime minister was shown wearing the white shoes during a recent interview in Downing Street.His fashion choice was slammed by British GQ magazine, who wrote that “in a bid to present himself as young and hip, Rishi Sunak took an eternally cool sneaker and ruined it for everyone”.“I issue a fulsome apology to the Samba community,” the PM said, responding to the backlash on LBC on Wednesday morning (10 April).“But, in my defence, I would say I have been wearing Adidas trainers including Sambas – and others, in fact – for many, many years.” More

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      Sunak grilled on ‘complete lack of leadership’ over Westminster honeytrap scandal by LBC caller

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      Rishi Sunak has defended his response to William Wragg’s admission that he shared colleagues’ personal numbers with a suspected scammer.During an appearance on LBC on Wednesday morning (10 April), the prime minister was asked by a caller if he had shown “a complete lack and failure of leadership” over the Westminster honeytrap scandal.“That particular incident is being looked at by two different police forces at the moment,” Mr Sunak said.He then claimed “there are wider things happening” and “lots of bad actors around the world who are trying to cause damage to our democratic processes.” More

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      Gaza conflict ‘increasingly intolerable’ says Rishi Sunak as he backs Joe Biden’s ceasefire calls

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      Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has backed Joe Biden’s calls for a 6-8 week ceasefire in Gaza to allow food and medicine to go into the country, following a significant intervention from the US president overnight where he called Israel’s approach to the conflict “a mistake”.The prime minister said Mr Biden and he were “very aligned on this” and that he had consistently called for an “immediate humanitarian pause so that we can get the hostages out.”Mr Sunak added: “We want to get aid in to help alleviate the suffering and then use that as a platform to build a sustainable ceasefire.”His comments come on the back of building domestic and international pressure on Israel to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza mounts following the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Palestine that has seen the death of over 30,000 people and the killing of seven aid workers – including three British citizens – by Israeli airstrikes.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More