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Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine a former defence minister has said days after President Zelensky warned his country was at risk of losing its war with Russia. British forces could give support and training to Ukrainians in their battle against Putin’s invasion, James Heappey suggested. But personnel would have to be kept away from the frontline, to prevent sparking a conflict between Russia and Nato. He also warned the UK’s armed forces were running “incredibly hot” and that the UK had to be better prepared for a potential war, amid growing threats around the world. One way of achieving this could be through a large “strategic reserve” force of thousands of veterans, who could be called up at a time of national crisis, he said in an interview with Sky News.Asked about the possibility of western troops on the ground in Ukraine, he said: “I think you’ve got to be careful about how you do it. I think definitely nowhere near a combat zone. I think you’ve got to be very, very careful not to make it into a Russo-NATO war.”But I do think it is worth exploring what in the sort of deeper – in the depth of Ukraine – the donor community could do.”Former armed forces minister James Heappey (Victoria Jones/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as Adam Crozier, the former CEO of Royal Mail and Alan Cook, the former managing director of the Post Office give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry on Friday 12 April.They will be taking to the witness box a day after fellow former managing director David Smith acknowledged the “substantial distress” he had caused after appearing to celebrate the conviction of a pregnant subpostmistress who was eventually jailed.Mr Smith told the Horizon IT inquiry he understands the “anger and upset caused” after telling Post Office staff the result of Seema Misra’s trial was “brilliant news”.Ms Misra was handed a 15-month prison sentence in November 2010.Speaking in the witness box at the inquiry on Thursday, Mr Smith said that “looking through the 2024 lens” he could see his email was “poorly thought through”.Ms Misra began running a Post Office in West Byfleet, Surrey, in 2005, but was suspended in 2008 after being accused of stealing £74,000.She was handed a 15-month prison sentence on her son’s 10th birthday in November 2010 and was eight weeks pregnant when jailed.Ms Misra’s conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2021. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Government needs a TikTok strategy to help combat misinformation directed at young people, MPs have said.Members of the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the Government needed to adapt to new apps and platforms that appeal to young people who are increasingly turning away from traditional sources of news.The recommendation is part of a wider report published on Friday that calls for more use of “trusted voices” such as scientists and doctors to communicate important information and combat conspiracy theories and other misinformation spreading on social media.Data from Ofcom said one in 10 people aged between 12 and 15 cited TikTok as their main source of news, while 71% of 16-24-year-olds use social media instead of or in addition to news websites.A spokesperson from TikTok said they welcomed the recommendation that the Government should engage with the public on whatever social media platform they choose to use.The committee said: “The recent growth of TikTok and decisions to disengage from or potentially ban the platform demonstrates how swiftly sources of information change.“New apps and platforms rapidly become major players, shifting audience habits but also fragmenting the sources the public use for information.“The Government must have a clear strategy for communicating with young people and adapting to the development of new apps and platforms which appeal to this audience.”During the course of its inquiry, the committee heard from BBC disinformation editor Rebecca Skippage, who said broadcasters needed to be “in those (social media) spaces” and learn from “the disinformation merchants because they are extremely good at getting people’s attention”.MPs also heard from consumer champion Martin Lewis, who said he had started using TikTok in response to “balderdash” produced by other users of the platform.TikTok has become a cause for concern for the Government over recent years, with security concerns leading to the app being banned from official electronic devices and the UK Parliament’s network.Some Whitehall departments continue to use TikTok, with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps being a noted enthusiast for the platform, although his spokeswoman said he does not use it on official devices.Following the decision to ban TikTok from Government devices, Mr Shapps’ spokeswoman said: “He is concerned that representatives of the people who deliberately choose not to engage with the public on the platforms that they actually use are unlikely to continue to represent these voters for long.”Along with developing a strategy for engaging young people on the platforms they use, the committee urged the Government to make more use of “the vast number of experts it employs”, building on the role played by Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance during the Covid-19 pandemic.They also called for the Government to be more transparent in publishing the evidence it used in making policy, especially in areas that are frequently subject to misinformation, in an effort to boost trust.Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage said: “With the spread of misinformation on social media remaining a very real problem, it’s more important than ever that communities across the country have access to accurate and authoritative information that is communicated in an open and relatable way.“There are lessons to be learnt from the pandemic where scientists played a critical role in communications.“The Government is missing a trick in not giving them a larger public role in the battle to counter misinformation.”A Government spokesperson said: “We use a range of channels to reach people directly on the platforms they spend the most time on.“This includes through marketing on digital and social media platforms, including those which attract younger audiences.“Once implemented the Online Safety Act will also help tackle the root cause of disinformation by requiring social media platforms to swiftly remove illegal misinformation and disinformation as soon as they become aware of it.”A spokesperson from TikTok said: “Millions of people come to TikTok to be entertained and informed, so we take down harmful misinformation, provide authoritative content through initiatives like election centres and our new Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths feed and also run media literacy campaigns to help our community tell fact from fiction.“More and more politicians and public bodies are joining TikTok so that they can provide users with reliable information about their campaigns, causes and policies, so we welcome this report’s recommendation that the Government should engage with the public on whatever platform they choose to use.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA cabinet minister has accused Labour of spending a decade trying to “shut women up”, as the Conservatives reignited a political culture war over transgender issues.Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, also claimed that the opposition had created an “atmosphere of intimidation” around the topic, after a landmark report on NHS gender services was published earlier this week.Her comments came after the shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said his former employer Stonewall had been wrong to argue that “trans women are women, get over it”.His shadow-cabinet colleague Louise Haigh rejected the claim that Labour had tried to shut down debate, saying there had been “bad faith” actors on all sides.Rishi Sunak was heavily criticised last month for refusing to apologise to the family of murdered trans teenager Brianna Ghey after making a joke about transgender people while her mother was visiting parliament.As the political row was rekindled, JK Rowling told Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to “save their apologies” after the debate on trans issues was blown open again with the publication of the Cass report. Health secretary Victoria Atkins has claimed that Labour created an ‘atmosphere of intimidation’ around the trans debate More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA former Post Office boss has apologised for saying that a pregnant subpostmistress being wrongly jailed for 15 months was “brilliant news”.David Smith, a former managing director at the government-owned firm, emailed colleagues to congratulate them on successfully prosecuting Seema Misra, who was accused of stealing £74,000 from her branch in West Byfleet.He told the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal that “with a 2024 lens” the email about her case was “poorly thought through”.Ms Misra, whose conviction was quashed in 2021 but has not yet received compensation, told Sky News she did not accept his apology and said he was only saying sorry because he was at a public inquiry.David Smith giving evidence at the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Sir Michael Hodgkinson – former chair of Post Office Ltd and former senior non-executive director of Royal Mail Holdings plc – gives evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry on Thursday 11 April.He will be speaking after the inquiry was shown yesterday letters from former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells defending the Horizon system.Ms Vennells suggested “temptation” for subpostmasters to borrow money from tills was a problem and not the Horizon system.The probe into the scandal was told how she made a “false statement” in a letter to former Conservative MP Oliver Letwin by saying that courts found in favour of the Post Office “in every instance” when prosecuting subpostmasters for theft or false accounting.The inquiry was shown minutes of a meeting between Ms Vennells, former chair Alice Perkins and MPs such as Lord Arbuthnot – who testified yesterday – in which she claimed a small number of subpostmasters had been “borrowing” money from the tills.Lord Arbuthnot also said he was not satisfied with the “brush-off” response he received from Ms Vennells after he raised concerns over subpostmaster complaints about the Horizon system. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak is facing calls to expel a Conservative MP after he suggested voters back Nigel Farage’s Reform party at the next election so Lee Anderson is returned to Westminster. Nick Fletcher, the MP for Don Valley, said the former Tory deputy chairman, who defected after being suspended earlier this year, was his seat’s “greatest champion”. He added that he hoped locals “appreciate what he has done for his home town and the country at the next election” adding “we both need to be back in Westminster”. The Liberal Democrats condemned what they said was further Tory infighting and said Rishi Sunak had to “find his backbone and kick Nick Fletcher out of the Conservative Party”.His extraordinary comments came after Mr Anderson declared he would not campaign in some Tory constituencies, including Mr Fletcher’s, because of his friendships with the sitting MPs.A series of shock polls suggest the Tory face a pasting at the election due to be held later this year. Recent polls have also put Reform just several points behind the Conservatives, amid fears right-wing populist party could make further gains if Mr Farage takes a more prominent role.While the party is unlikely to win any seats, it could take enough votes in certain areas to hand victory to Labour. Announcing his non-aggression pact, Mr Anerson said he would not campaign against four Tory MPs because “friendship means more”.They include Ben Bradley, the MP for Mansfield, Brendan Clarke-Smith, who represents Bassetlaw and Marco Longhi, the Dudley North MP. In a post he said: “These people are my friends and the ones that reached out to me last month.”They will always be my friends and because of this I will not campaign against them in their Parliamentary seats.”Friendship means more to me. Every other seat is fair game.”Lee Anderson More