Indy TV

There is “no way back” for the UK and Vladimir Putin’s relationship, David Cameron has said.When pressed on a time when he took the Russian president to watch judo competitions at the Olympics in London during his time as prime minister, Lord Cameron said he thought it was right to “try and see if we could build more of a relationship”, but ties ultimately broke down because of Russia’s actions in Syria and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.It comes as the UK was accused of helping Moscow “pay for its war” in Ukraine by importing record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Russian fossil fuels. More

Rishi Sunak met with soldiers of the German armed forces and was given a tour of a military vehicle during his visit to Berlin on Wednesday 24 April. The prime minister is in Germany to discuss joint efforts on security, trade, and illegal migration with chancellor Olaf Scholz.He can be heard saying “very impressive vehicle” in response to a Bundeswehr captain showing him around the machinery of the vehicle.The visit comes after Mr Sunak revealed he plans to increase spending in the defence sector by £75 billion over the next 6 years. More

Reform UK’s deputy leader Ben Habib appeared to suggest migrants should be left to drown in the English Channel in comments that horrified an interviewer on Tuesday, 23 April.It came after a seven-year-old girl was among five migrants who died as they tried to cross the water hours after parliament passed Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda bill.Mr Habib told Julia Hartley-Brewer: “We only have an obligation to save people if it’s reasonable to do so.”When challenged on his beliefs, Mr Habib replied: “We could… provide them with another dinghy… [to] go back to France.”And if they choose to scupper that dinghy, then yes, they have to suffer the consequences of that.”When asked if he would leave them to drown, Mr Habib said “Absolutely.” More

Angela Rayner labelled Rishi Sunak a “pint-sized loser” as she claimed Boris Johnson was the Conservative Party’s “biggest election winner” during a heated Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) exchange.The Labour deputy leader accused Oliver Dowden of urging the prime minister to call an early general election to minimise Tory losses on Wednesday (24 April).Ms Rayner said: “Has he finally realised that when he stabbed Boris Johnson in the back to get his mate into No.10 he was ditching their biggest election winner for a pint-sized loser?” More

Prime Minister’s Questions descended into chaos on Wednesday 24 April, as a Tory MP opened the session by attacking Labour with a long-winded question.Jonathan Gullis stood to speak for 85 seconds, before asking deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden if it was “time for Stoke-on-Trent Labour to axe the garden tax”.His softball question to Mr Dowden, who was standing in for Rishi Sunak, was met with loud jeers from the opposition.After Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle moved the session on, the deputy PM joked that “there was not much he could add” to Mr Gullis’s point. More

Angela Rayner told Tory MPs to “stop obsessing” over her council tax and “get a grip” during a fiery Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 24 April.The deputy Labour leader’s reply came after Oliver Dowden aimed a jibe at her, joking that she would be claiming the House of Commons as her principal residence soon.Ms Rayner has faced scrutiny regarding whether she paid the right amount of tax on the 2015 sale of her Stockport council house because of confusion over whether it was her principal residence.She has insisted she believes she followed the law at all times. More

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it was “reasonable” to cut 72,000 civil service jobs to fund Rishi Sunak’s pledge to boost defence spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2030.Speaking to BBC Breakfast today (24 April), Mr Shapps said: “That actually will take the civil service back to where it was before Covid, so I think that is a very reasonable approach.“We think it is important we fund the front line. It comes before everything else and if we don’t defend the nation, then everything else becomes slightly less of an issue.” More