During a disastrous meeting with Mr Trump, the Ukrainian president was asked by vice president JD Vance, “have you said thank you once?”

In a lengthy social media post, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I always begin with words of gratitude from our nation to the American nation”.

The Ukrainian president insisted the US-Ukraine relationship “is more than just two leaders” but it was “crucial” for his country to have Mr Trump’s support.

He added: “American people helped save our people. Humans and human rights come first. We’re truly thankful. We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them.”

Ukraine latest: Zelenskyy says Ukraine should be ‘not forgotten’

Mr Zelenskyy will meet Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Saturday afternoon after his plane landed at Stansted Airport.

It comes ahead of a major summit hosted by the UK prime minister on Sunday, where more than a dozen European and EU leaders including Mr Zelenskyy will meet to discuss the Ukraine war and security.

The Ukrainian president had travelled to Washington DC to attempt to secure a ceasefire agreement after three years of war with Russia and a possible mineral deal with the US.

The meeting descended into a shouting match in front of cameras and journalists.

Mr Vance told Mr Zelenskyy: “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.

“You should be thanking the President [Trump] for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”

‘You’re gambling with World War Three’

The Ukrainian president tried to object but Mr Trump spoke over him and told him: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.

“You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”

Mr Zelenskyy defended himself and his country, openly challenging Mr Trump on his softer approach to Vladimir Putin and urging him to make “no compromises with a killer”.

More from Sky News:
How Starmer secured wins at the White House
Inside the Oval Office with Trump and Starmer

European leaders express support for Zelenskyy

After the row, Mr Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart to leave the White House, according to a US official, leaving the minerals deal in limbo.

European leaders expressed their support for Mr Zelenskyy ahead of the UK summit on Sunday.

France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, and Poland’s Donald Tusk all shared social media posts expressing their support.

The post Zelenskyy says he is ‘truly thankful’ to US – as he arrives in UK for summit appeared first on World News Stories.

Ms Dodds, who is also women and equalities minister and attends cabinet, said she was resigning from both posts “with great sadness” but would continue to support the government from the backbenches.

Politics Live: Starmer back in Downing Street after Washington trip

In her resignation letter to the prime minister, she acknowledged there was “no easy path” to fund the boost to defence but claimed there had been a “tactical decision” for the Overseas Development Aid (ODA) budget to “absorb the entire burden”.

She said: “You have maintained that you want to continue support for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine; for vaccination; for climate; and for rules-based systems.

“Yet it will be impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut; the effect will be far greater than presented, even if assumptions made about reducing asylum costs hold true.”

Ms Dodds said the cut will likely lead the UK to pull-out from numerous African, Caribbean and Western Balkan nations, as well as a withdrawal of commitments to international banks and a reduced voice in the G7 and G20.

“Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people – deeply harming the UK’s reputation,” she added.

“I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump’s slipstream of cuts to USAID.”

Around £6bn per year will be taken out of the aid budget and transferred over to pay for defence.

That amounts to a reduction in aid spending from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3%.

In a letter responding to Ms Dodd’s resignation, Sir Keir said the decision to cut foreign aid “was a difficult and painful decision and not one I take lightly”.

“However, protecting our national security must always be the first duty of any government and I will always act in the best interests of the British people,” he said.

The resignation comes after a key meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Trump on Thursday, during which the US leader praised the defence sending decision and also touted the prospect of a tariff-free trade deal.

Ms Dodds marks the loss of a fourth minister from the new Labour government, after Louise Haigh and Tulip Siddiq resigned and Andrew Gwynne was sacked.

Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, who was the international development minister under Rishi Sunak, said Ms Dodds had “done the right thing”.

He posted on X: “Labour’s disgraceful and cynical actions demean the Labour Party’s reputation as they balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world. Shame on them and kudos to a politician of decency and principle.”

Resignation of Dodds shows Starmer’s ruthless side

Liz Bates

Political correspondent

@wizbates

She was one of his closest allies, but today Anneliese Dodds has quit Keir Starmer’s government with a stark warning about the direction of travel.

It’s been quite a journey since she got the top job in his opposition cabinet.

When he took over as Labour leader, she was appointed shadow chancellor and seen as a key player in his team.

Since that time, Starmer has shown himself to be a pragmatic, sometimes ruthless, operator when it comes to both policy and political friendships.

This resignation once again shows that side.

Not only is he pushing through deep cuts to foreign aid – a move he previously condemned – but in doing so, he has also cast aside one of his most loyal and long-standing colleagues.

Former Tory defence minister Tobias Ellwood also praised the decision as “courageous and principled”, saying that national security is “not just about hard power” but tackling threats like disease and extremism.

However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch backed Sir Keir’s decision.

She said: “I disagree with the PM on many things BUT on reducing the foreign aid budget to fund UK defence? He’s absolutely right.

“He may not be able to convince the ministers in his own cabinet, but on this subject, I will back him.

“National interest always comes first.”

Read more from Sky News:
What foreign aid is being cut?
‘Trump not the reason for UK defence spending boost’

Sir Keir announced the decision to cut the aid budget on Tuesday, saying it would fund and increase defence spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% in 2027. Labour’s manifesto had pledged to reach this target but it was not clear when that would be achieved or how it would be funded.

The prime minister admitted the inauguration of Mr Trump – who has made clear he no longer wants to bankroll NATO’s defence- “accelerated” his decision but said it had been three years in the making, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said the reduction in foreign aid is “not a renouncement I’m happy to make”.

Asked about it during the Convention of the North conference, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “I’m sorry to hear she’s resigned, it was a really difficult decision that was made.”

However, she said it was “absolutely right” that the cabinet endorse the prime minister’s actions to spend more money on defence.

The post Minister resigns over cut to international aid budget appeared first on World News Stories.

That’s how one senior government figure described their mood as the prime minister, his foreign secretary and the Number 10 team left the White House having cemented Sir Keir and President Trump’s personal relationship; secured a commitment to NATO; the prospect of a trade deal that could spare the UK from tariffs and the presidential nod on the Chagos deal.

That gives you a sense of just how much was at stake going into talks with a president that has heaped criticism on many old allies in recent weeks.

That the Starmer-Trump meeting went as well as it did is proof, say those around the prime minister, of how much legwork and meticulous planning has gone into pulling it off.

The work began in opposition with Keir Starmer calling President Trump after the assassination attempt, while his foreign secretary courted vice president JD Vance.

There was the dinner in Trump Tower in September and, ever since then a prime minister who has swerved any personal or public criticism of the president.

When the visit was confirmed, the Number 10 team war-gamed all the possibilities with the prime minister, I’m told, going through all the detail and planning with aides to “make the most of the visit”.

They came out feeling that all the pieces fell into place with wins for the UK on trade and a “special” Keir Starmer coming through talks with President Trump that you could have a positive relationship with President Trump.

There were a few factors that helped the prime minister.

The first was the president’s genuine love for the UK and Sir Keir’s team’s understanding that President Trump is driven by personal relationships.

Get that right and much of the rest falls into place, say those who have seen him up close.

Sir Keir Starmer, the ponderous lawyer, has I’m told also built a genuinely warm relationship with President Trump: “They genuinely like each other and find each other easy to speak to,” is how one observer put it.

Then came the deployment of soft power.

I was in the Oval Office when the prime minister procured a personal letter from his jacket pocket from the King inviting President Trump for a second state visit.

Mr Trump was genuinely delighted as he read the letter, marvelled at King Charles’s signature and pointed out that this was the first time in history that anyone had been afforded such an “incredible” honour.

The prime minister also brought something to the table for a president that loves a deal.

The decision to lift defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 went down extremely well on Capitol Hill with Republicans and signalled to President Trump that the UK was an ally that had heeded his message on defence spending.

There were wins too.

Keir Starmer’s deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, where the US has a critical military base, to Mauritius, was backed by President Trump, a hugely welcome moment for a PM who has been heavily criticised about the deal back home.

And when I asked the president about his sharp remarks on EU tariffs – he said the union had been constructed to “screw” the US on trade – he told me he’d been having problems with the EU bit was in a “very different place” with the UK.

“I have a great warm spot for your country,” President Trump told me before the talks.

Afterwards, he told reporters at the press conference in the East Wing of the White House that there was a “very good chance” of a trade deal in which tariffs were not necessary.

Of course, there is a long way to go, but against a backdrop of a president threatening tariffs on a number of countries, that was a big win for the PM.

But if going out of this short visit was a story of trade, going into it was a focus on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Sir Keir said securing a backstop for European peacekeepers in Ukraine is the only way to contain President Putin.

Read more:
Starmer contradicts Vance over free speech claim
Read some of Trump’s letter from King Charles
Top five moments from Trump-Starmer press conference

On this, President Trump was rather more noncommittal, stressing that the priority was to do the deal first and that the mineral agreement he is poised to sign with President Zelenskyy on Friday should be deterrent enough.

On Sunday, the PM will host 18 leaders in London to discuss what to do next.

Ultimately, Europe will need to know that the US has its back on Ukraine – the PM didn’t come away from the Trump meeting assured of that yet.

Although, the message for more NATO investment was heard loud and clear again, with an expectation from the British camp that more commitment on defence spending from Europe will be required by President Trump as part of any backstop deal.

What is clear coming out of this meeting is that Sir Keir and the UK could genuinely become the bridge between the US and Europe as the deteriorating relationship between Brussels and Washington offers Sir Keir the opportunity to take the centre stage.

After a bumpy start to his premiership, the prime minister has found in his endeavour on Ukraine, a means to show leadership – and perhaps a way to win doubtful voters back around.

He has managed to find a way with President Trump. Sunday’s summit is his next test as he brings together President Zelenskyy with fellow European leaders to try to hammer out a plan to support any peace deal.

Starmer was an unlikely war footing leader.

But he is finding a way.

The post Starmer secured wins for UK at Trump meeting – here’s how appeared first on World News Stories.

Going into this bilateral summit, those around Sir Keir Starmer were stressing that these guys genuinely got on well, they liked each other, and that the prime minister could say things to Mr Trump in private and not get his head blown off.

What we saw today was a genuine rapport between the two men, and Mr Trump seems amenable to Sir Keir.

Number 10 will have thought that this could not have gone better.

Politics latest: Trump tells Starmer UK may get ‘great’ trade deal

One key element for the UK side was convincing Mr Trump to give security guarantees for Ukraine in any kind of peace deal with Russia, but he didn’t really bite on that topic.

Nonetheless, Sir Keir will have plenty to discuss with European leaders at the big London summit on Sunday.

The big story that emerged out of the press conference was, however, about trade.

Mr Trump has been threatening allies around the world with tariffs.

Read more:
Top moments from Trump and Starmer’s press conference
Inside the Oval Office with Trump and Starmer

He didn’t completely rule out tariffs on the UK, but he did say that what he wanted to do was a trade deal where maybe this could be avoided.

That would be a huge win for a prime minister who did not necessarily think he would come out with that, and also for a UK government that really needs to strengthen trade ties with the US because they’re looking for economic growth.

Whether they can agree on things such as food standards and NHS access is not so clear.

But Sir Keir will be pleased with how well this played out today.

The post No 10 will think this US trip could not have gone better appeared first on World News Stories.

Sir Keir Starmer said the government was in the “early stages” of looking at whether tax rises or spending cuts were needed to meet Labour’s self-imposed fiscal rules.

He would not say if Ms Reeves is looking at further tax cuts to give her more headroom after months of economic downturn, and said the “big decisions” on tax were made in the October budget.

Politics latest: ‘Very important’ US agrees to Chagos deal between UK and Mauritius

Speaking to reporters on the plane to Washington DC to meet Donald Trump, he said: “Obviously I am not going to get ahead of myself until we have made decisions.

“But as I have said before, in terms of the big decisions on tax obviously the budget was the place that we took those decisions – but as ever, going into a statement I am not going to say in advance what we might do and what we might not do.

“But let me not set hares running, the big decisions were in the budget of last year and that’s the way we are approaching this spring statement.”

It is less than a month away from the spring statement on 26 March, when the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish its forecast on the UK economy.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out the fiscal watchdog’s toplines, which are widely expected to be a reduction in growth outlook and will warn the chancellor is at risk of breaching her fiscal rules.

Former Bank of England governor Lord Mervyn King told Sophy Ridge’s Politics Hub programme on Wednesday that income taxes will have to rise to plug the UK’s financial blackhole.

He said taxes would need to be increased to accommodate both a rise in defence spending, announced on Tuesday, and public services reform.

“The obvious tax to raise is the basic rate of income tax, we will all contribute to it,” he said.

Lord King added he would not have raised employers’ national insurance contributions, as Ms Reeves did in October, but would instead have increased employees’ income tax.

Read more:
Two reasons why Starmer’s meeting with Trump really matters
Starmer insists on security guarantee for Ukraine as he arrives in Washington

The OBR is required to produce two economic forecasts a year, but, the chancellor said she would only give one budget a year to provide stability and certainty on upcoming tax changes.

However, there is speculation about tax changes due to the poor economic climate since the autumn budget.

Inflation has risen to its highest level in 10 months to 3%, there has been a sharp rise in government bond yields and growth has not been as high as expected.

This has led to the chancellor’s £9.9bn headroom against her fiscal rules being all but wiped out.

Ms Reeves could extend a freeze on income tax bands and allowances beyond April 2028, dragging more people into paying more tax as their pay rises.

She is reportedly considering lowering the annual limit on how much people can put into cash ISAs from £20,000 to £4,000.

The post Starmer refuses to say if further tax rises will be imposed at spring statement appeared first on World News Stories.

Lord Mervyn King told Sophy Ridge’s Politics Hub programme we should all recognise “the very difficult position” that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has “inherited”, as he pointed to slow growth, a high budget deficit, large national debt and interest rates rising.

But he suggested rather than employers’ national insurance contributions, employees’ income tax is what should have been hiked when Ms Reeves announced her budget in October.

Lord King said increasing taxes would be needed in order to accommodate both a rise in defence spending and public services reform, adding: “The obvious tax to raise is the basic rate of income tax, we will all contribute to it.”

Following the budget, the chancellor received backlash after announcing employers’ national insurance contributions would be increased.

“I think it would have been better to have said in the budget, ‘look, the previous government was irresponsible in cutting employees’ national insurance contributions, but let’s be frank, we were pretty irresponsible in saying we wouldn’t reverse it’,” Lord King said.

Read more from Sky News:
CIA looking into UK’s reported backdoor request to Apple encryption
School warning after girl, 8, targeted in sextortion plot

Lord King nonetheless thinks it is still possible for the government to say to people “maybe we said some silly things before the election” but “this is the situation Britain finds itself in, this is what we have to do over the next four to five years”.

He says the public wants politicians to be “honest”, even if that means raising taxes.

“But in the long run, to raise enough money, I think we will have to raise the basic rate of income tax. And I see no harm in doing that.”

The post Former Bank of England governor says income taxes must rise appeared first on World News Stories.

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of failing to guarantee the recently announced uplift in defence spending will not be spent on the contentious Chagos Islands deal.

After initially refusing to set out a timeline to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, the prime minister confirmed on Tuesday the threshold would be met by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament.

The move has been funded by a cut in the foreign aid budget from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3%, which the government says will release £13.4bn annually for defence – although experts say the figure is closer to half that, at £6bn.

Despite the move being welcomed by the main opposition parties, there have been questions as to whether the uptick in spending could be used to fund the Chagos deal, which would transfer the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute.

Politics latest: Badenoch takes credit for defence plan

The agreement includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, home to a UK-US military base that plays a crucial role in the region’s stability and international security.

Under the proposed agreement, the UK would lease back Diego Garcia for 99 years at a reported annual cost of around £90m.

Although the Biden administration welcomed the deal as a “win for diplomacy”, Donald Trump’s White House has expressed reservations about the deal owing to its concerns over China’s influence in Mauritius.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked whether the increase in defence spending would be used to fund the Chagos deal.

“This morning the defence secretary could not say if the Chagos deal would come out of the defence budget,” she said.

“Can he confirm to the House that none of the defence uplift includes payments for his Chagos deal?”

The prime minister replied: “The additional spend I announced yesterday is for our capability on defence and security in Europe, as I made absolutely clear yesterday.

“The Chagos deal is extremely important for our security, for US security. The US are rightly looking at it. When it’s finalised I’ll put it before the House with the costings.”

He said “the figures being bandied around” were “absolutely wide of the mark”, adding: “The deal is well over a century but the funding I announced yesterday is for our capability to put ourselves in a position to rise to a generational challenge, that is what that money is all about and I thought she supported it.”

Later, Downing Street did not rule out that money from increased defence spending could be used as part of the Chagos deal.

Asked about Sir Keir’s response to questions about whether any of the new money will be spent on the deal, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The uplift announced yesterday will be going on our military capabilities, technology, adopting cutting-edge capabilities that are vital to retain a decisive edge as threats rapidly evolve”.

Read more:
Landmark moment Trump’s return stuns UK into action
Love Actually-style moment unlikely with PM and Trump

He later added: “We’ll obviously present the details of the Chagos deal as and when it’s finalised.”

Experts have questioned the £13.4bn figure used by the government, arguing that a 0.2% increase amounted to an extra £6bn in cash terms.

Ben Zaranko, associate director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the prime minister “followed in the steps of the last government by announcing a misleadingly large figure for the ‘extra’ defence spending this announcement entails”.

“An extra 0.2% of GDP is around £6bn, and this is the size of the cut to the aid budget. Yet he trumpeted a £13bn increase in defence spending.

“It’s hard to be certain without more detail from the Treasury, but this figure only seems to make sense if one thinks the defence budget would otherwise have been frozen in cash terms.”

The post No 10 refuses to rule out defence spending increase could go towards Chagos deal appeared first on World News Stories.

The prime minister said today’s announcement was “three years in the making” after Russia invaded Ukraine – but a “very changed context” pushed him forward.

Politics Live: PM warns ‘everything has changed’ after announcing defence spending boost

In a surprise Commons statement on Tuesday morning, Sir Keir said defence spending will increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, funded by a cut in the foreign aid budget.

While this honours a Labour manifesto commitment, ministers have previously been tight-lipped about when the new target would be reached – with today’s decision coming ahead of a meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Trump in Washington on Thursday.

Asked by Sky News political editor Beth Rigby if Mr Trump had “bounced” him into setting out a timeline, given he has long called for European countries to boost defence spending, the prime minister said: “I think in our heart of hearts, we’ve all known that this decision has been coming for three years, since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

“The last few weeks have accelerated my thinking on when we needed to make this announcement.”

Analysis: Starmer has put Britain on a war footing ahead of key Trump meeting

However, he denied Mr Trump was effectively setting UK government policy, saying the defence spending increase is “very much my decision” and he has been “arguing for some time” that Europe and the UK “needed to do more”.

He said talks of “possible peace” and what that would mean for Europe’s security – with the potential for UK peacekeeping troops to be put on the ground – “has brought our response into sharp focus”.

“I have pushed our system to move this date forward because I think it’s vital that we take the decision now, that we rise to the occasion and we show the leadership that’s needed across Europe, in response to a very changed context,” he said.

The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, with the jump to 2.5% meaning £13.4bn more will be spent annually on defence from 2027.

Sir Keir said he wants that figure to reach 3% of gross domestic product during the next parliament, but that would depend on Labour winning the next election.

Farage ‘fawning over Putin’

Asked if he is “Nigel Farage is disguise”, given the Reform UK leader has previously vowed to increase defence spending but cut the foreign aid budget, Sir Keir said: “Nigel Farage didn’t even turn up to the debate in parliament today. Nigel Farage is fawning over Putin. That’s not patriotism.

“What I’ve done is take the duty of the prime minister seriously, which is to ensure that our citizens are safe and secure.”

Mr Farage has previously faced criticism for saying the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with NATO and the EU’s expansions, and for saying he admired Vladimir Putin as a statesman.

Sir Keir’s announcement comes as Europe reels from a shift in US foreign policy, with the White House making clear it is no longer prepared to bankroll the defence of other NATO members.

Last week also saw an exchange of words between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after officials from Washington and Moscow held peace talks without anyone from Kyiv or Europe present.

‘Desertion of leadership’

Sir Keir announced the government would cut back on foreign aid to fund the increase, reducing current spending from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3% – in a move that has angered some charities.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the measure and said she had written to the prime minister over the weekend to suggest how he could redirect money from the overseas development budget.

But former Tory defence secretary Ben Wallace said an extra 0.2% was “a staggering desertion of leadership”.

“Tone deaf to dangers of the world and demands of the United States,” he wrote on X.

“Such a weak commitment to our security and nation puts us all at risk.”

The post Defence spending decision ‘accelerated’ by Trump taking office, PM says appeared first on World News Stories.

The Conservative leader, giving a foreign policy speech in London on Tuesday, told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby the US is “not an authoritarian regime” and shares the same Western values as the UK, including free trade, free enterprise and free speech.

On Monday, the US sided with Russia on two UN resolutions when they declined to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, and backed a resolution for the conflict’s end that avoided labelling Russia as the aggressor or acknowledging Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Politics latest: UK defence spending to rise to 2.5% of GDP

Ms Badenoch said the second resolution showed the US “acting in its national interests”.

“It is being realistic and we need to be so too,” she said.

“Now, that doesn’t mean we’re going to agree on everything. We disagree with them on that resolution, for example.

“But that is why I want the prime minister to be successful in his talks and find out what the thinking was behind that.”

‘Absolutely critical’ Starmer succeeds in DC

Ms Badenoch also said it is “absolutely critical” that Sir Keir succeeds in his talks on ending the war in Ukraine with Mr Trump on Thursday.

However, she did not provide details of exactly what he should succeed in.

Sir Keir is expected to discuss the importance of Ukraine’s independence, European involvement in peace talks and US security guarantees with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump, since becoming president just over a month ago, has called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator and suggested Kyiv started the war.

He has also sent US officials to negotiate with Russia in Saudi Arabia – but did not invite Ukraine or any European leaders.

Call for Starmer to cut development aid and welfare budget

Ms Badenoch urged Sir Keir to “repurpose” development aid in the short term and look to make welfare savings to fund increased defence spending.

She said 2.5% of GDP on defence is “now no longer sufficient” because any country that “spends more on debt interest than it does on defence, as the UK does today, is destined for weakness”.

“I will back the prime minister in taking these difficult decisions,” she added.

Her call came ahead of the prime minister’s unexpected statement on Tuesday lunchtime, in which he said UK defence spending will rise to 2.5% by 2027, and 3% in the next parliament.

Read more:
Starmer says ‘US is right’ about UK defence
Russian oligarchs face UK ban

The world has changed and the UK is not ready

Ms Badenoch said the UK must “accept reality” that the world has changed and “we can no longer hide behind vapid statements that were at best ambitious 20 years ago and are now today outright irrelevant”.

“It is time to speak the truth. The world has changed and the UK is not ready, so we must change too,” she said.

She accused the West of not doing enough to support Ukraine as “we were too ineffective, too indecisive and too often behind the curve”.

Because of that, she said: “Putin gained what he needed most, time. We now see the consequences.

“An end to the war is being negotiated while a fifth of Ukrainian territory is under enemy occupation.”

However, she said she was proud of the support her government gave Ukraine in the run-up to Vladimir Putin’s invasion and “in those first crucial weeks and months of the war”.

The post Badenoch says US is acting in its national interest – and UK must do the same appeared first on World News Stories.

The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has appeared in court after he was accused of making favourable statements about Russia in the European Parliament in exchange for bribes.

Nathan Gill, 51, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery under the Criminal Law Act 1977, and with eight counts of bribery under the Bribery Act, 2010, the Metropolitan Police said.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard Gill allegedly made statements in the European Parliament and in opinion pieces to news outlets, such as 112 Ukraine, which were “supportive of a particular narrative” and would “benefit Russia regarding events in Ukraine”.

Gill – who was an MEP for almost six years and a member of the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, between 2016 and 2017 – is alleged to have been asked by former Ukrainian politician Oleg Voloshyn to make specific statements about Russia in return for money on at least eight occasions.

The conspiracy to commit bribery charge relates to allegations that Gill conspired with Voloshyn and “others” between 1 January 2018 and 1 February 2020.

It claims he accepted “quantities of money in cash” which was “improper performance by him of his function or activity as the holder” of a position as an MEP.

The other bribery offences are alleged to have taken place between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019.

Gill, from Llangefni on Anglesey, was previously a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), leading the Welsh wing of the party between 2014 and 2016.

He left UKIP in 2019, and the same year he joined Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party – later Reform UK – and was elected as a Brexit Party MEP.

Gill was confirmed as leader of Reform UK Wales in 2021 ahead of Senedd elections, but reports suggest he left the party months later when he failed to win a seat.

Read more on Sky News:
Labour and Reform call for by-election after MP jailed for assault
The right-wing podcaster picked for leading FBI role

A spokesperson for Reform UK Wales confirmed Gill was no longer a member, and said the party would not be commenting.

Gill was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021 under the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, the court also heard.

The Crown Prosecution Service said charges have been authorised against Voloshyn but he is not in the jurisdiction.

Gill was granted bail on the condition that he surrender his passport, does not obtain international travel documents and does not contact Voloshyn.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 14 March.

The post Ex-Reform UK leader in Wales in court over alleged Russian bribes appeared first on World News Stories.