Minggu, 23 Juni 2024

All flights from Manchester Airport facing cancellations and severe delays after power cut - Sky News

All flights departing from Manchester Airport are facing cancellations and severe delays after a power cut in the area.

It is understood an issue with the power supply in the local area affected the airport and a number of other buildings.

Power has been restored and the airport has said it is "working to get those passengers already at the airport onto flights as soon as possible".

Terminals 1 and 2 are severely affected, while Terminal 3 is running.

Passengers already inside the airport face significant delays and possible cancellations, with images showing huge queues of people there this morning.

Credit: @JoeHypershell
Image: Credit: @JoeHypershell

Manchester Airport has said passengers due to travel from Terminals 1 or 2 are advised to contact their airlines for up-to-date information before coming to the airport.

Passengers due to fly from Terminal 3 might face delays but should come to the airport as normal unless advised otherwise by their airline, the airport added.

Pic: @BobbiHadgraft
Image: Pic: @BobbiHadgraft

Airlines will organise any onward journey for those whose flights are cancelled.

The airport is working to get all services back up as soon as possible, however they are currently not able to give a timeline.

Read more:
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Farming's verdict on party manifestos
Taylor Swift's message to Prince William after selfie with royals

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Inbound flights are less affected, but there are some delays at Border Control.

Manchester Airport said in a statement: "Following the power cut that affected Manchester Airport and the surrounding area earlier this morning, passengers due to travel from Terminals 1 and 2 are advised to contact their airlines before coming to the airport as a number of flights are likely to be cancelled... We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.

"Our customer service and resilience teams are working hard to keep passengers in the airport updated, along with our airline colleagues."

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2024-06-23 05:21:17Z
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Sabtu, 22 Juni 2024

Labour to target embattled Sunak over 'dirty dozen' Tory candidates - The Independent

Labour 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.

On Saturday night it emerged that the Tory chief data officer, Nick Mason, was also being investigated for alleged betting, according to the PA news agency. He’s taken a leave of absence.

With Labour more than 20 points ahead in most polls currently, Labour 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 (Labour Party)

Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth described the prime minister as “weak” for not being able to take a firm stance. The other 11 so-called “dirty dozen” include:

Craig Williams, Mr Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary standing in Montgomeryshire, and Laura Saunders, who has worked for the Tories since 2015, married to director of campaigning Tony Lee, and standing in Bristol North West, who are both being investigated by the Gambling Commission for betting on the election date shortly before it was called.

Ms Saunders has not responded, but Mr Williams said: “I clearly made a huge error of judgement that’s for sure and I apologise.”

Mr Sunak said he was “extremely angry” about the scandal but insisted he cannot suspend people while the investigation is underway warning those found guilty will be expelled from the Tories.

Marco Longhi, standing in Dudley, is accused of stoking ethnic divisions with a letter addressed to “voters of the British Pakistani/ Kashmiri community” asking who they thought would speak up for Kashmir, him or Labour rival Sonia Kumar, with her common Indian surname in bold, underlined, capital letters.

Rishi Sunak is under pressure in the closing stages of the campaign (AP)

Mr Longhi denied stoking ethnic tensions, saying: “I don’t know what her ethnicity or religious background is. I am not trying to stoke division. I will always stand up for abuses of human rights wherever they take place.”

Stephen James, Dover and Deal, is accused of using AI to produce an antisemitic cartoon depicting men with hooked noses at the white cliffs of Dover carrying bags of “false hopes”, then using it in a now-deleted social media post attacking so-called “carpetbaggers” standing in the seat.

Mr James has “unequivocally apologised” and said that the image had been created from famous historic cartoons by Thomas Nast and Gerald Scarfe.

He said: “As someone who has written for The Times of Israel on antisemitism, I am acutely aware of the importance of vigilance against such instances. AI has safeguards to prevent the creation of offensive images, but on this occasion, it fell short and I shall be extra vigilant going forward. I apologise wholeheartedly for any offence caused by this image.”

Rose Hulse (centre) is one of the candidates being scrutinised (@BSGMatters/X)

Rose Hulse, Bristol North East, standing against Jewish Labour candidate Damien Egan, liked posts on social media referring to Mr Egan as a “fiend of Israel”, and another that accused Labour leader Keir Starmer of “tap dancing” to the idea that “AntiSemitismIsAllThatMatters”.

Ms Hulse told The Independent: “The tweet referenced was clicked in error. As soon as I realised, I immediately deselected the tweet. I apologise for any offence caused.”

Darren Millar, Clwyd North, was filmed bowing before an alleged Islamophobic hate preacher while he delivered a sermon at the launch of a bible centre in Wales, and has been revealed to have links with another pastor accused of homophobia.

Mr Millar told the BBC he did not endorse the views of the pastors adding: “No one should be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation or religious beliefs.”

Lee Roberts, Putney, described London mayor Sadiq Khan as a “snivelling little drip” who had done more to damage the capital “than the Luftwaffe”.

After the recording came to light, Mr Roberts said: “I would like to apologise for my comments. They were not intended to give any offence.”

Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth says Sunak is “weak” ( Victoria Jones/PA)

Oliver Johnstone, Stockport, has joked about drugging women with the date rape drug Rohypnol in order to have sex.

Mr Johnstone said: “These comments were made a number of years ago and I wholeheartedly apologise for them.”

Alex Deane, Finchley and Golders Green, defended Boris Johnson against a groping allegation by quoting the phrase: “How do I know my advances are unwanted until I’ve made them.”

Mr Deane has pointed out that he was quoting the late Tory MP Alan Clarke from his diaries and his full quote was about the presumption of innocence in British law when his fellow guest on Sky News at the time had said she believed Johnson to be guilty.

Will Goodhand, West Bromwich, was filmed 19 years ago in a dating show boasting about his massage technique, and asking a retail assistant her bra size.

Mr Goodhand said: “This was a dating show of its time. It’s not something that I would do or take part in now.”

Ashley Fox, Bridgwater, is accused of lying to MPs about his political ambitions when they vetted his candidacy to head up the Independent Monitoring Authority. He told the justice select committee he would not run for political office if appointed.

Fox said: “I have now stepped down from the IMA. I am very proud to have been selected as the Conservative candidate for Bridgwater and am looking forward to the election on 4 July.”

Commenting for Labour, Mr Ashworth said: “While Labour took immediate action this week to suspend the one candidate for our party against whom serious allegations have been made, Rishi Sunak has refused to take any action against the ‘dirty dozen’ of Tory candidates, who stand accused of acts ranging from blatant corruption to dog-whistle racism.

“This is not just about Rishi Sunak’s weak leadership, it is about his basic lack of backbone and principle. If any Labour candidate had done any of the things these 12 Tories have been accused of, Keir Starmer would have had them out the door before their feet could touch the ground.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party has spoken to these individuals, and reminded them of the Party’s code of conduct and standards expected of candidates, including on social media.”

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2024-06-22 18:09:04Z
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Jay Slater: Missing teenager's father and brother make emotional pleas for his safe return - Sky News

The father and brother of Jay Slater, the British teenager missing in Tenerife since Monday, have made emotional pleas for his safe return.

Warren Slater, the 19-year-old's father, told Sky News he is "just hoping that somebody has helped him off this mountain".

He added: "That's all I want, that somebody has helped him get off this mountain. I just want him back and that's it. He's my son."

His voice cracking, Mr Slater said the last few days have been "a nightmare, just a nightmare".

Struggling to control his emotions, he then walked away from the camera as he repeated: "I just want him back and that's it."

Pic: PA Search and rescue teams near to the village of Masca, Tenerife, where the search for missing British teenager Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, continues.
Image: Pic: PA

Mr Slater's brother, Zak Slater, echoed those words, saying: "We don't know where he is, what's happened, or anything. I don't know what to say. We just want him to come home safe."

He also became emotional as he said: "I just wish he'd come home."

Warren Slater (L) and Jay Slater
Image: Warren Slater (L) and Zak Slater
Emergency workers near the village of Masca, Tenerife.
Pic: PA
Image: Emergency workers near the village of Masca, Tenerife. Pic: PA

The pair have gone to Tenerife to help search for Jay, who was holidaying with friends before he disappeared. He had been at the NRG music festival with two friends on Sunday.

He was last heard from just after 8am on Monday, when he called his friend Lucy Law to say he was setting off to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.

It's not clear whether he realised the journey could take as much as 11 hours.

Ms Law said he told her he was lost, in need of water, and only had 1% charge on his phone.

Tenerife map for Jay Slater story

On Saturday, the sixth day of the search, police, rescue dogs and firefighters reconvened at Rural de Teno Park, the last location logged by Mr Slater's phone.

Mr Slater is from the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle, where specialist officers are continuing to support his family, Lancashire Constabulary said.

The force added it had made "an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources", which was rejected by Spanish authorities.

Pic: PA Search and rescue teams near to the village of Masca, Tenerife, where the search for missing British teenager Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, continues.
Image: Pic: PA

Missing teen's mum has 'not slept'

The apprentice bricklayer's mother, who is also on the island, the largest in the Canary Islands, also made a direct plea to her missing son, saying: "We just need you home."

Debbie Duncan said she has "not slept" since he disappeared.

Asked how the family was coping with the situation, she said: "We're not. I'm not coping very well at all. I've not slept, I'm exhausted. It's been awful. I can't give up on him, I just can't."

Read more:
Jay Slater's last known movements
Missing teen 'had cut his leg and didn't know where he was'

Jay Slater and his mother, Debbie Duncan. Pic: Lucy Law
Image: Jay Slater and his mother, Debbie Duncan. Pic: Lucy Law
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Asked by the Press Association if her head was spinning from the past few days, she said: "It is, it is.

"People say: 'Yeah, I understand' - no, you don't, you don't understand."

Speaking about what message she would have for her son, Ms Duncan added: "We just need you home - we just need him home."

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2024-06-22 21:30:23Z
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Farage defends Ukraine war remarks after Sunak and Starmer criticism - BBC.com

Farage defends Ukraine war remarks after backlash

Starmer, Farage and Sunak composite

Nigel Farage has defended his claim that the West provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine, following condemnation from leaders across the political spectrum.

Writing in the Telegraph, the Reform UK leader said he had never been an "apologist or supporter of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin" but that "if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds".

In an earlier BBC Panorama interview, Mr Farage said the war was "of course" Mr Putin's fault but that the expansion of the EU and Nato had given him a reason to tell the Russian people "they're coming for us again".

Responding to the interview, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the comment was "completely wrong and only plays into Putin's hands," accusing Mr Farage of “appeasement” that was “dangerous for Britain’s security”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the comments as "disgraceful", while Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called Mr Farage "an apologist for Putin". The SNP said it was "an insult to all Ukrainians who have suffered."

In his Telegraph piece, Mr Farage wrote: "Don’t blame me for telling the truth about Putin’s war in Ukraine," adding that he wanted to "set the record straight".

"[The] invasion of Ukraine was immoral, outrageous and indefensible. As a champion of national sovereignty, I believe that Putin was entirely wrong to invade the sovereign nation of Ukraine," he wrote.

"Nobody can fairly accuse me of being an appeaser. I have never sought to justify Putin’s invasion in any way and I’m not now.

"But that doesn’t change the fact that I saw it coming a decade ago, warned that it was coming and am one of the few political figures who has been consistently right and honest about Russia’s Ukraine war.

"As I have made clear on multiple occasions since then, if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds. And if you have neither the means nor the political will to face him down, poking a bear is obviously not good foreign policy."

'Completely wrong'

Speaking earlier, Mr Sunak said Mr Farage's comments to the BBC were "completely wrong and only plays into Putin's hands".

He added: "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, meanwhile, said Mr Putin “bears sole responsibility” for the invasion of Ukraine and that “anybody who wants to stand to be a representative in our Parliament should be really clear... that we stand against that aggression".

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “When I travel around our country in cities, towns and villages, British people fly the Ukrainian flag as a symbol of solidarity and hope for their future.

"Nigel Farage has proved he is on the side of Putin, not the side of freedom.”

The SNP's Brendan O'Hara told The National: "In defending the indefensible, Farage has once again shown how out of touch his views are with voters in Scotland."

In his Panorama interview, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader was asked by Nick Robinson about his past comments on Mr Putin.

"I said I disliked him as a person, but I admired him as a political operator because he's managed to take control of running Russia," he replied.

He said it had been "obvious" to him for many years "that the ever-eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union was giving this man a reason to his Russian people to say, 'They're coming for us again' and to go to war".

Pressed further, he added: "We provoked this war. It's, you know, of course it's his fault - he's used what we've done as an excuse."

After the interview aired on Friday, Mr Farage, a former member of the European Parliament, said on X that he was "one of the few figures that have been consistent and honest about the war with Russia".

Alongside the new statement, he reposted a speech in the European Parliament from 2014 in which he called for the West to "stop playing war games with Putin."

Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey said the remarks made the Reform UK leader "unfit for any political office in our country, let alone leading a serious party in Parliament."

The Ukrainian presidency has told the BBC it will not be putting out an official statement on Mr Farage’s comments.

But a source in the presidential office warned about the "virus of Putinism and the rise of war propaganda", adding: "The task of civilized humanity is to fight this virus in the bud.”

BBC election banner

Reform UK has been gaining ground on the Conservatives in the opinion polls since Mr Farage announced he was returning to front-line politics as the party's leader shortly after the general election campaign got under way.

He has said his aim is for Reform to replace the Conservatives as the official opposition to Labour, which he says is certain to gain power on 4 July, although polling suggests the party may win only handful of seats at this election.

Additional reporting by Christy Cooney

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2024-06-22 19:20:47Z
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Mother of Jay Slater, missing in Tenerife, says police have ‘stepped up’ search - The Guardian

The mother of Jay Slater, who is missing in Tenerife, has said she believes Spanish police have intensified their search for the 19-year-old, six days after he disappeared.

On Saturday afternoon, search and rescue workers, police and firefighters were combing through a vast area of the valley where Slater was last seen, with dogs brought in to help with the search.

Debbie Duncan told the Guardian she spent eight hours in a police station on Friday as police outlined their detailed plans to search for the missing apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire. “I think it’s been stepped up,” she said, which she described as “too right”.

Duncan, who flew to the island on Tuesday, a day after Slater went missing, said she still believes “something untoward” may have happened to her son, and that police had told her they were “investigating all leads”.

Search and rescue teams with dogs and vehicles

On Saturday, police were at the holiday home that Slater had visited before he disappeared, standing guard outside while tourists ate at the adjoining cafe.

Police were also seen near a house further down the valley, close to the palm tree where Slater’s phone last “pinged”, and which is believed to be his last known location.

Later on Saturday, Warren Slater, 58, visited the scene in the village of Masca where his son went missing.

He told reporters he just wanted “the boy back”, adding: “I’m just exhausted. I’m still hopeful. I’m not feeling negative just yet. I know it’s five days. It’s not just that they’ve said absolutely not. I don’t know what it’s been like today because I’ve been advised to stay away because I would just break down.”

“My boy might be just up there somewhere. “We’re all devastated. He’s just a normal boy from a little town in Lancashire. These things don’t happen.

“I’ve not slept for five days. My brain isn’t functioning well and I’m tired and exhausted.”

Warren is estranged from Jay’s mother, who did not feel ready to join them.

On Friday, rescuers said they were focusing on an area 30km square, concentrating on the paths of the valley surrounding the rural village of Masca, as well as two ravines.

With Slater now missing for almost a week, rumours and conspiracy theories about his disappearance continue to spread online, with social media “sleuths” speculating on social media platforms, including TikTok and Facebook.

The administrator of an official Facebook page set up to help find him, Rach Louise Harg, said in a post on the page that somebody had logged into Slater’s Instagram account who was not him.

Duncan also said Spanish police were concerned that “noise” around the case may have a negative impact on the search.

“They have actually said that there’s too much noise, that’s affecting it,” she said. “They’ve got all the plans, their locations. They have got this map they were showing us, shaded different colours.”

Duncan renewed calls from the family for British police to fly to Tenerife to join the search. But last night, in a statement, Lancashire constabulary said that their offer of help had been refused by Spanish counterparts.

“We’ve had a problem with the language barrier,” Duncan said. “It’s difficult with all the Spanish police and British police, they have to let the Spanish police do the investigation, but I want somebody to come out here.”

Lancashire police said specialist officers from the force were continuing to support the family.

“While this case falls outside the jurisdiction of UK policing, we have made an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources,” a spokesperson said.

“They have confirmed that at this time they are satisfied that they have the resources they need, but that offer remains open and they will contact us should that position change.”

On Friday, search teams in the Rural De Teno nature park said they had not given up hope of finding Slater alive. They said the search focused on three distinct areas, covering a distance of 30sq km.

“We still have hope that he’s alive, up until the last moment when the last hope is lost,” one rescuer said. “The truth is that we feel a bit frustrated because we can’t find him. It’s so big [here] that it’s very difficult to search in such a steep area. But we’re doing everything we can.

“We haven’t found anything, we have combed this entire trail, we’ve been up and down but, until now, nothing.”

A poster appealing for information on Jay Slater

The teenager was last heard from on Monday morning when he phoned a friend saying he was lost, needed water, and that his phone battery was on 1%.

He had been with friends at the NRG music festival, but had gone back with two men he had met, who are believed to be British, to their holiday cottage on the outskirts of the village of Masca, almost 25 miles (40km) north of the holiday resort in Los Cristianos where he was staying with friends.

The last known sighting of Slater was by Ofelia Medina Hernandez, whose brother owns the cottage where the men were staying.

She said Slater had asked her about bus times, then later saw him walking up a hill – in the opposite direction to Los Cristianos.

“He walked along the road when I saw him for the last time, up there … He was there alone,” she said. “He was walking normally, though fast, a little fast.”

To walk back on foot would have taken about 11 hours.

On Friday evening, search teams deployed dogs and drones from the Cruz de Hilda viewpoint, near where Slater was last seen.

The Guardia Civil said on Friday: “There is a search on going and the police operation is focused on the area of Masca (Tenerife). We cannot confirm any more information.”

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2024-06-22 18:08:00Z
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General election latest: Farage is a pub bore with simplistic answers, says Ben Wallace amid Putin row - The Telegraph

Nigel Farage is a “pub bore” with simplistic answers to complex problems, said Ben Wallace after the Reform UK leader suggested the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine.

The former defence secretary, who is not standing in the general election, was speaking on BBC Radio 4 and said: “I think Nigel Farage is a bit like that pub bore we have all met at the end of the bar who often says ‘if I was running the country’ and presents very simplistic answers to actually I am afraid in the 21st century complex problems.

“It is not that easy to govern a country but also to find international solutions to problems.”

Mr Wallace added: “If he became prime minister tomorrow morning, what is his solution to dealing with a President Putin that he alleges he admires? A man who remember was involved in the murder of a British citizen, Dawn Sturgess, with deployment of nerve agent in Salisbury.

“Is his answer to that ‘we provoked him’? He is going to have to deal with the real world.”

It comes after Mr Farage said in a BBC Panorama interview that the “ever-eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union” gave Vladimir Putin a reason to justify war. He echoed this sentiment in a tweet on Friday night by saying the “EU was wrong to expand eastward”.

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2024-06-22 08:03:00Z
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Nigel Farage repeating Putin's 'speaking notes' on Ukraine, ex-defence secretary says – UK election live - The Guardian

Yvette Cooper has promised to re-establish the Home Office’s Windrush unit, promising a Labour government would “turn the page” on the scandal with a series of measures such as expediting compensation claims.

Writing for the Guardian to mark Windrush Day she said the party would appoint a new “Windrush commissioner” who would “oversee the delivery of the compensation scheme” and be a “voice” for families and communities, adding that trust needed to be rebuilt between Windrush victims and campaigners and the Home Office.

A Labour government, she said, would start by ensuring that the Windrush compensation scheme is “delivered effectively”. It would also restore “community engagements to encourage applications, as well as the reconciliation events promised after the Wendy Williams Lessons Learned review but abandoned by the Conservatives”.

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Bloomberg has got sight of some internal Conservative polling this week that confirms public polling that projects a parliamentary majority for Labour as high as 200.

A senior Conservative minister, who was briefed on the polling, said he anticipated election night being like the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest of the first world war, in which more than one million people were killed or injured.

Officials told Bloomberg that over half of the cabinet is at risk of losing their seats, something that would be unprecedented in British electoral history.

It has been reported previously that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, could lose his seat to the Lib Dems, with fellow cabinet ministers Grant Shapps and Mark Harper among those who could be ousted by Labour.

Alex Wickham, Bloomberg UK’s political editor, wrote:

There are now growing concerns among Tory officials that Sunak’s own constituency of Richmond and Northallerton is no longer completely safe, after one poll implied he could be the first serving premier in history to lose his seat.

At the end of the interview, Nick Robinson asked Ben Wallace if there are some wishing that Boris Johnson stayed leader of the Conservative party given the dire position of the Tories in the polls.

Asked to comment on Johnson’s legacy as prime minister, Wallace said: “All I know is when I served with Boris Johnson as his defence secretary, and with Rishi Sunak, they both leant in and supported defence.”

He added: “I suspect my Labour counterpart (John Healey) if he were to be defence secretary will be wanting more from Rachel Reeves and will get precisely zilch.”

Labour has said it would have an “iron-clad commitment” to supporting Ukraine if they form the next government. Rishi Sunak has said the party would not match Tory defence spending.

The former defence secretary Ben Wallace has been on the Today programme, speaking about Nigel Farage’s comments about the west provoking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said what threatens Vladimir Putin are the values embodied by the EU and Nato, adding that Putin’s “very bizarre view of the world” ignores the fact that Ukraine has been separate from Russia in its history longer than it has been together and ignores the treaties signed by Russia in the 1990s upholding the right for states to choose their own alliances.

Wallace told the BBC:

It is not about Nato. Yes, he wants that to be played across our constituencies and played into the hands of the likes of Mr Farage who is only too keen often to what looks like repeat what looks like some of president Putin’s speaking notes. But certainly that is not the actual historical case.

Farage expanded on his position on Ukraine, writing on X yesterday evening that he is “one of the few figures that have been consistent and honest about the war with Russia”.

Wallace, who is not standing in the upcoming general election, said Farage has been “consistently wrong” on the issue, stressing that Nato is a defensive alliance.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

I think Nigel Farage is a bit like that pub bore we have all met at the end of the bar who often says if ‘I was running the country’ and presents very simplistic answers to actually I am afraid in the 21st century complex problems. It is not that easy to govern a country but also to find international solutions to problems

If he became prime minister tomorrow morning, what is his solution to dealing with a President Putin that he alleges he admires? A man who remember was involved in the murder of a British citizen Dawn Sturgess with deployment of nerve agent on Salisbury. Is his answer to that we provoked him? He is going to have to deal with the real world.

Good morning, and welcome to our continued coverage of the 2024 general election campaign.

Nigel Farage, the Reform party leader, has been criticised for suggesting the west “provoked” Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by expanding the EU and Nato eastwards.

He told Nick Robinson in the BBC Panorama interview that aired last night:

I stood up in the European parliament in 2014 and I said – and I quote: ‘there will be a war in Ukraine’. Why did I say that? It was obvious to me the ever eastward expansion of Nato and the EU was giving this man a reason to his Russian people to say they are coming for us again and to go to war.

Robinson said that Farage was echoing Vladimir Putin’s narrative in justifying the war. Farage replied:

Sorry I have been saying this actually since the 1990s – ever since the fall of the wall. Hang on a second: we provoked this war. Of course, it is his fault.

Challenged on his beliefs over the invasion of Ukraine, and his stated admiration for Putin, Farage said he disliked the Russian president personally but “admired him as a political operator” because of the extent of his control over Russia.

James Cleverly, the home secretary, criticised Farage’s comments, saying he was “echoing Putin’s vile justification for the brutal invasion of Ukraine”, while the former defence secretary Ben Wallace said the Reform leader was voicing “sympathy” to someone who “deployed nerve agents on the streets of Britain”.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, called the comments “disgraceful”, adding that Farage has “shown that he would rather lick Vladimir Putin’s boot than stand up for the people of Ukraine. That makes him unfit for any political office in our country, let alone leading a serious party in parliament.” You can read more on this story here.

Here is some of what to expect on the campaign trail today:

  • Labour’s shadow environment secretary Steve Reed will visit a county on the south coast to talk about sewage. Reed has threatened to put water bosses in prison, ban their bonuses and impose fines for sewage spills. Water companies would also be unable to mark their own homework, with new independent water monitoring. The Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, meanwhile, will be out in London to unveil his party’s plans to expedite payments for the thousands of victims of the Windrush scandal.

  • Rishi Sunak will trail his party’s plan for pubs, clubs and festivals, which include ways to “crack down” on councils setting “disproportionate conditions and restrictions on licences” in an attempt to cut red tape for businesses in the entertainment sector.

  • Reform UK campaigning continues on the Tendring Peninsula in Essex, as Nigel Farage hosts a bumper set of campaign days in the Clacton constituency he is contesting.

  • SNP leader John Swinney will visit the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, where he will put the spotlight on his party’s drive for “sustainable funding for farming” with financial backing rising “to at least pre-Brexit levels”. The party has also called for a rural visa pilot scheme to “mitigate against the severe labour shortages” which it attributes to Brexit, and a veterinary agreement with the EU.

  • Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey will also visit a farm on the campaign trail in a week where the Conservatives have sought support from rural communities.

It is Yohannes Lowe here for the next couple of hours. If you want to get my attention then please do email me on yohannes.lowe@theguardian.com.

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2024-06-22 07:39:00Z
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