UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have led criticism of Nigel Farage after the Reform UK leader claimed that the West “provoked” Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.It did not stop Mr Farage from doubling down on his comments, originally made in a BBC Panorama interview which aired on Friday night, in a column piece on Saturday afternoon for the Daily Telegraph, claiming that he should “not be blamed for telling the truth about Putin’s war”. Asked about the remarks during an election campaign visit in London on Saturday, prime minister Mr Sunak suggested Mr Farage was “emboldening Putin”.“What [Mr Farage] said was completely wrong and only plays into Putin’s hands,” he said.“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.”Sir Keir, speaking at another campaign event in the capital, said: “Anyone who is standing for parliament ought to be really clear that Russia is the aggressor, Putin bears responsibility, and that we stand with Ukraine, as we have done from the beginning of this conflict.Nigel Farage drew a link between Nato and European Union expansion in recent decades and the conflict in eastern Europe More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak appeared to pull up the white flag of surrender at the party’s summer garden party fundraiser with what guests saw as an admission that he will not be prime minister after 4 July.The event at Hurlingham Club, one of London’s most exclusive venues, on Thursday, was meant to be one of the party’s major fundraisers during the year, and came in the middle of an election campaign where the Tories have, according to insiders, run out of money.Mr Sunak was due to attend but because of the BBC Question Time event only appeared by video message instead while other cabinet ministers made an appearance.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking on the campaign trail (Aaron Chown/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour are set to launch a social media campaign aimed at questioning Rishi Sunak’s judgement by ramping up pressure for him to suspend 12 candidates caught up in different controversies including the betting scandal.The new campaign will feature an unnamed cabinet minister who allegedly put a bet on the election date, and 11 named Tory candidates involved in a range of issues highlighted in the campaign.With Labour more than 20 points ahead in most polls currently, they want to go for the jugular over Mr Sunak’s decision not to suspend candidates from his party.Labour are targeting Rishi Sunak over controversies surrounding these 12 candidates More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has set out for the first time how he laid a trap for Boris Johnson over Partygate, luring the former prime minister into the lies that saw him forced out of parliament.The Labour leader, and Britain’s former chief prosecutor, said he knew Mr Johnson’s instinct under pressure was to lie and detailed how he “forensically” led the then prime minister into misleading the House of Commons.Mr Johnson sensationally quit as an MP last summer before facing the verdict of parliament’s privileges committee, which was to rule he lied about the scandal of lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.Sir Keir Starmer has set out how he forensically trapped Boris Johnson in a web of lies over Partygate More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJohnny Mercer has been urged to apologise for accusing his Labourgeneral election rival of lying about his military service and withdraw the “deeply disrespectful” remarks.The veterans minister, who is standing for re-election in Plymouth, Moor View, has been widely condemned for suggesting former Royal Marine Fred Thomas lied about leading men into combat to boost his political career.Mr Thomas has said he is unable to discuss large parts of his military service and cited a certificate of valediction signed by a Special Forces Support Group commanding officer.The decorated ex-Royal Marine served for seven years, rising to the rank of Captain. Due to the highly sensitive and recent nature of his role, Thomas remains unable to discuss much of his service.His Certificate of Valediction notes that Mr Thomas gained “considerable operational experience relative to the time you have served”. It notes Mr Thomas “command on operations overseas” which saw him “lead personnel…in a range of hostile and challenging environments”.( More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Tories have been dwarfed by the Labour Party in fundraising as big donors ditch Rishi Sunak’s party ahead of the 4 July general election.Figures released on Friday reveal that the Conservatives raised £292,500 from 6 June to 12 June, just weeks after the prime minister called the general election.By contrast, donors flocked to get behind Sir Keir Starmer’s bid to enter Downing Street, pumping £4.4m into the Labour Party’s coffers.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.After a series of polls put the Tories on course for a historic defeat, the Electoral Commission statistics are the latest sign of the electoral wipeout facing the party.The figures suggest donors are ditching Rishi Sunak ahead of an expected general election drubbing More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNigel Farage has claimed the West “provoked” Russia into its deadly invasion of Ukraine two years ago. The Reform UK leader said the European Union’s expansion as well as Nato had provided Vladimir Putin with an “excuse”. His incendiary comments came in a high-profile television interview less than two weeks before voters go to the polls. They are likely to prompt an angry backlash from politicians across the spectrum, who have supported Ukraine as it attempts to fight off the Russians. The Reform UK leader was appearing on The Panorama Interviews with Nick Robinson series (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives have been warned they are “held in contempt” by voters as Rishi Sunak failed to deny cabinet ministers were among senior Tories to place bets on the date of the election. As pressure mounts on the prime minister over the Downing Street betting scandal, Dominic Grieve, the former Tory attorney general, said the party was getting what “they deserve” after years of chaos. Paul Scully, a former Tory minister, described it as a “punishment election” for the party, that the outcry over gambling allegations would exacerbate.“It feels like we’re shooting ourselves in the foot and we’re not millipedes. We’ve only got two feet,” he said. “When you’ve got people that are wanting to punish the Conservatives and so they’re going to be looking under the microscope at absolutely everything that we do and then we’re making it easy for them to punish us even further on that basis.”On Friday, multiple cabinet ministers were forced to deny they had placed a bet on polling day just before it was announced by the prime minister.Rishi Sunak continues to face questions about on allegations Conservative candidates may have placed bets on the date of the General Election before he announced it (Aaron Chown/PA) More