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A Conservative aide who described the government’s Rwanda policy as “crap” was doing so for “dramatic effect,” James Cleverly has said.James Sunderland, a Tory candidate and Mr Cleverly’s parliamentary private secretary, asked if anyone has their phones on before making the remark, in a leaked recording obtained by the BBC and published by the Labour Party.Mr Cleverly told Trevor Phillips that Mr Sunderland was “very supportive” of the policy.“He was saying that the impact, the effect, is what matters.”Mr Cleverly added: “He did it clearly for dramatic effect to grab the attention of the audience.” More

A Conservative parliamentary candidate and aide to James Cleverly described the government’s Rwanda plan as “crap” in a leaked recording.James Sunderland, Mr Cleverly’s parliamentary private secretary, asks if anyone has their phones on before making the remark, in audio obtained by the BBC and published by the Labour Party.Mr Sunderland continued by defending the plan and saying it would deter migrants from attempting to cross the Channel.“But it’s not about the policy. It’s about the effect of the policy. It’s the second- or third-order effects,” he added.Mr Cleverly told Sky News his aide was putting forward a “very counterintuitive statement” to grab the attention of the audience. More

Rishi Sunak has accused Nigel Farage of “playing into [Vladimir] Putin’s hands” with his claim that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The Reform UK leader claimed “we provoked this war” in a BBC Panorama interview, while drawing a link between Nato and European Union expansion in recent decades and the conflict in eastern Europe.Mr Farage’s claim was “completely wrong,” the prime minister told reporters on Saturday, 22 June.“This is a man [Mr Putin] who deployed nerve agent on the streets of Britain, who is doing deals with countries like North Korea, and this kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain’s security, the security of our allies that rely on us, and only emboldens Putin further,” Mr Sunak added. More

Nigel Farage appeared to celebrate in the pub as Denmark scored their equaliser against England on Thursday afternoon (20 June).The Reform UK leader shared footage of himself surrounded by jubilant fans cheering and chanting while watching the Euro 2024 fixture.Despite wearing an England shirt as he stood at the bar, Mr Farage didn’t seem too downbeat as Denmark netted their equaliser.He was seen smiling and posing for photos with his thumb up while a TV behind him showed Morten Hjulmand celebrating his goal.England took the lead early in the Group C fixture, but couldn’t hold on and drew the game 1-1. More

Sir Keir Starmer was applauded as he hit out at Rishi Sunak’s trans jibe allegedly linked to murdered teenager Briana Ghey.During a special BBC Question Time election leaders debate on Thursday evening (20 June), Sir Keir was quizzed about his views on the definition of a woman.The Labour leader said he agreed with Sir Tony Blair’s recent comment that a woman has a vagina and a man has a penis.Sir Keir said: “There are many people who don’t identify with the gender they are born into.”The Labour leader then criticised Mr Sunak for a trans jibe allegedly linked to Ms Ghey during PMQs earlier this year. More

Members of the BBC Question Time special audience shouted “shame” when Rishi Sunak said he would prioritise the UK’s security over the European Convention on Human Rights.Speaking during the debate on Thursday (20 June), Mr Sunak said: “I believe everything we are doing is compliant with our international obligations.”Mr Sunak said he was “prepared to do what it takes” to begin sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, adding that the country does not need a “foreign court” to issue instructions on border security.“I will put our country first,” he added.Calls of “shame on you” could still be heard during the programme’s closing credits. More

Sir Keir Starmer refused to say if Jeremy Corbyn would have made a good prime minister during BBC’s Question Time leaders election debate.The Labour leader was repeatedly quizzed by host Fiona Bruce on whether he believed his predecessor would have made a good leader for the country during the debate on Thursday night (20 June).When asked to give a “yes or no” answer, Sir Keir said he did not think Labour could have won the general election in 2019.When pressed further, he said: “He would be a better prime minister… look what we got… Boris Johnson, a man who made massive promises and did not keep them.” More

The Conservatives have been slammed for releasing an “abhorrent” migrant boat advert on World Refugee Day.The party released a video on X, which shows a small boat arriving with migrants on it, through the view of a pair of binoculars.People are seen on the beach rolling out a red carpet, with the word “welcome” written in the sand.The final scene has text which says: “Labour’s approach to illegal immigration.”The post on X is captioned: “Don’t wake up to this on 5th July.”Social media users have responded to the video in disgust. One user labelled it “abhorrent”, while another said: “Grubby ad from a grubby campaign for a grubby government.” More