Tag Archives: Russia

Gavin Williamson’s Biggest Gaffes As Ex-Tory Minister Awarded A Knighthood

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There was disbelief on social media as Gavin Williamson – the twice-sacked minister who oversaw an exams fiasco – was handed a knighthood by Boris Johnson.

Downing Street said on Thursday the Tory MP, who was widely criticised for his handling of schools as education secretary during the coronavirus pandemic, would be conferred the honour by the Queen.

It is understood the 45-year-old has been ennobled on the basis of his political and public service.

The former fireplace manufacturing firm managing director – who, as a Tory party enforcer, kept a pet tarantula named Cronus in a glass box on his desk – has a dubious track record in the upper echelons of politics.

His handling of disruption to schools during the height of the pandemic and the grading of GCSEs and A-levels after exams were cancelled was widely seen as disastrous.

Williamson was rewarded with the role as education secretary by Johnson despite being sacked as defence secretary by Theresa May. It is worth noting he helped run Johnson’s successful 2019 campaign to become Tory leader.

The firing from defence came following an inquiry into the leak of information from a security council meeting about Chinese telecoms firm Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G mobile network. Williamson denied being the source of the leak, despite having an 11-minute conversation with a journalist that broke the story.

Away from policy errors, Williamson is perhaps best-known in British politics for his habit of making a gaffe. Here are some of his biggest:

Humiliating Marcus Rashford Mix-Up

The education secretary told the Evening Standard that he had met Rashford, a prominent campaigner for free school meals, while it was later revealed he had actually met rugby union player, Maro Itoje. Both men are Black.

Referencing his Mancunian origins and Itoje’s London upbringing, Rashford later tweeted: “Accent could have been a giveaway [emoji].”

‘Forgets’ His A-Level Results

In an interview on LBC, the education secretary said his results allowed him to go to Bradford University.

“For a lad growing up in Scarborough, Bradford was the most exotic and exciting place in the whole world,” he said.

“I remember walking up to those college doors, going into my college at sixth form, getting the envelope, opening up that envelope, seeing the grades on there and feeling absolute delight.”

But pressed on what his results were, Williamson said: “I’ve forgotten, it was so long ago.”

Williamson was only able to reveal he did not get three A*s.

‘Russia Should Go Away And Shut Up’

In the wake of the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018, Williamson gave his assessment of UK-Russian relations after the Sailsbury nerve agent attack.

Blaming Russia for the incident, he said: “It is absolutely atrocious and outrageous what Russia did in Salisbury. We have responded to that.

The tenor of his warning clearly had little effect.

‘Do As I Say, Not As I Do’ Warning To Teachers

The Times’ Nicola Woolcock tweeted: “Gavin Williamson doesn’t turn up in person to Universities UK conference in Newcastle – but uses his videolink speech to warn universities to get back to in person teaching…”

Taking To The ’Gram In Parliament

Williamson was told off by parliamentary authorities after using Instagram in the House of Commons.

Then defence secretary, he posted a photo from the government frontbench of the prime minister delivering a statement on Brexit.

It was captioned: “The @theresamay making her statement to the House of Commons.”

Admittedly, it was more drab than his usual content, which has a distinct weekend warrior energy.

A Commons spokesperson said: “Where [photography] is seen or reported to be happening the individual in question will be asked to stop and reminded of the rules.”

Heckled By His Phone

In 2018, Williamson was attempting to deliver a speech on Isis in the Middle East when a voice coming from his jacket pocket interrupted proceedings.

In what the Mirror suggested was probably the first speech to parliament by an artificial intelligence assistant, Siri could be heard saying: “Hi Gavin, I found something on the web for: ‘In Syria, democratic forces supported by…’”

Williamson told MPs: “I’m not sure what caused that intervention, but I do apologise for that.

“It is very rare that you’re heckled by your own mobile phone, but on this occasion it is a new parliamentary convention, without a doubt.”

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Life Goes On: The New Normal For Ukrainians Still Living In A Warzone

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Ukrainians have been subjected to an intense attack from Russia for the last week, pushing an estimated one million people to flee – but what’s life like for the millions who stayed behind?

While Russian president Vladimir Putin allegedly want to “seize the whole of Ukraine”, only the city of Kherson is actually under the control of Russian troops a week after the military invaded.

Several other cities are under intense artillery attacks and persistent shelling – a move described as a potential war crime by Boris Johnson from the Kremlin – but have so far evaded capture by the Russians.

Citizens are still having to shelter in underground stations to stay safe and Ukraine has reported more than 2,000 civilian deaths so far.

Russia has admitted 498 of its troops have died, although the Ministry of Defence thinks the real number is much higher.

And yet, millions of Ukrainians are determined to stay on and defend their country under their wartime leader and president Volodymyr Zelenksyy.

So here’s what life looks for those people who are persevering through the unimaginable conditions, as their lives have been turned upside down over the last seven days.

Civilians cross the shelled bridge in Irpin on March 2, 2022, in Irpin, Ukraine
Civilians cross the shelled bridge in Irpin on March 2, 2022, in Irpin, Ukraine

Europa Press News via Europa Press via Getty Images

Civilians take shelter at an underground metro station in Kyiv on March 2, 2022
Civilians take shelter at an underground metro station in Kyiv on March 2, 2022

GENYA SAVILOV via AFP via Getty Images

Locals of Zaporizhzhia prepare and carry sand bags inside and outside of the hospital so that it is less affected by the Russian attacks, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Locals of Zaporizhzhia prepare and carry sand bags inside and outside of the hospital so that it is less affected by the Russian attacks, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine

Anadolu Agency via Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Miraculously, utility workers have made sure internet, light, heating and hot water facilities can still operate – but only in some cities.

Food appears to still be in healthy supply in various areas of the country, despite concerns of an emerging humanitarian crisis among Western governments.

Civilians are seen in a downtown restaurant cooking food to distribute to soldiers, amid Russia's attacks.
Civilians are seen in a downtown restaurant cooking food to distribute to soldiers, amid Russia’s attacks.

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

For those trapped without food, other Ukrainians are trying to gather supplies to help the less fortunate survive.

In the city of Mariupol, the Russian forces have reportedly cut off its water, heating, power and supply lines. The city council has compared it to the “old Leningrad”, in reference to Nazi Germany’s siege of a then-Soviet city in 1941, which left 1.5 million dead.

A Ukrainian soldier even reportedly texted the Telegraph pleading: “If anything happens don’t let us be forgotten.”

Ukraine’s strength against the Russian forces has stunned the international community too, as the ordinary people stand up against Putin’s army in both large and small ways.

Civilians are training to fight, learning how to make molotov cocktails (homemade explosives) and, in some cases, stealing Russian equipment.

A civilian trains to throw Molotov cocktails to defend the city
A civilian trains to throw Molotov cocktails to defend the city

VIACHESLAV RATYNSKYI via REUTERS

Civilians attend tactical and shooting exercises on the 6th day since start of large-scale Russian attacks
Civilians attend tactical and shooting exercises on the 6th day since start of large-scale Russian attacks

Anadolu Agency via Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Civilians build iron barricades and traps to block Russia's armoured vehicles
Civilians build iron barricades and traps to block Russia’s armoured vehicles

Anadolu Agency via Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

However, as French president Emmanuel Macon has warned “the worst is yet to come” when it comes to Putin’s brutality, it remains unclear how much longer people can live under these trying conditions.

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UK To Personally Sanction Vladimir Putin After Ukraine Invasion

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The UK will personally sanction Russian president Vladimir Putin, Boris Johnson has told a virtual meeting of Nato leaders.

Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov are being targeted over their “revanchist mission” to overturn the post-Cold War order, the prime minister said.

He told alliance leaders on Friday that the UK would echo measures announced by the EU to target the Russian leader.

Referring to Putin’s wish to recover territory which previously fell under the USSR, he said Russia was “engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn post-Cold War order”.

Johnson told allies “the UK would introduce sanctions against president Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday”, according to a No 10 spokesman.

“He warned the group that the Russian president’s ambitions might not stop there and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences,” he said.

Johnson also used the meeting to urge “immediate action” over the banning of Russia from the Swift payment system to “inflict maximum pain” on the Kremlin.

It comes as frustrated Russian forces are prepared to “indiscriminately” use thermobaric bombs to seize control of Ukraine, Western officials believe.

One western official said it was “likely” that Russia failed to achieve its main objectives on day one of its invasion of Ukraine.

The official added: “And my fear with those objectives, that timescale not being met, is if that continues to be a theme where they are delayed and then my concern is that that Russia uses indiscriminate use of indirect fire, particularly artillery systems, thermobaric weapons – which we know Russia has both in its armoury and has used in previous conflicts.

“At the moment we’re not seeing the use of those particular weapons. But my fear would be that if they don’t meet the timescales and objectives that they would be indiscriminate in the use of violence and they don’t adhere to the same principles of necessity and proportionality and rule of law that Western forces do.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president issued a sombre warning to leaders of the EU as Russian forces continue to violently invade the country.

“This might be the last time you see me alive,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly told EU leaders on a conference call on Thursday night.

Zelenskyy is currently hiding in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv as more than 100,000 Russian troops continue to attack the country on Putin’s orders.

“We were supposed to talk on the phone this morning, but he was no longer available,” Italian prime minister Mario Draghi told his parliament on Friday morning of Zelenskyy.

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What Are The New ‘Severe’ Sanctions Boris Johnson Has Slapped On Russia?

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Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine this morning, sending troops, missiles and bombs across the border.

There has been reports of civilian casualties and families have been trying to flee Kyiv amid the chaos.

President Vladimir Putin’s invasion has been condemned by western allies, with Boris Johnson accusing him of being a “blood-stained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest”.

Johnson has now unveiled ten further punitive measures after he was initially criticised for not going far enough with his first set of sanctions.

In a Commons statement, he vowed the UK would implement “the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen”.

Here, HuffPost UK takes you through what has been announced today and assesses what impact they will have.

What Did Boris Johnson Announce Today?

Here are the 10 new sanctions:

1) An asset freeze on all major Russian banks, including VTB, the country’s second largest bank with assets totalling £154 billion.

2) Legislation to stop Russian companies to raise finance in this country and to ban the Russian state from raising sovereign debt on the UK markets.

3) Sanctions against more than 100 Russian individuals, entities and subsidiaries. They include five wealthy oligarchs with links to the Putin regime.

4) Immediately banning Russian airline Aeroflot from landing planes in the UK.

5) Suspend and prohibit all dual use export licences to Russia on items such as electrical components that could be used in military or civilian computers.

6) Legislation prohibiting a wide range of high-tech exports to Russia.

7) A new law limiting the amount of money Russian nationals can deposit in UK bank accounts.

8) Work with allies to limit Russian access to the Swift international payment system.

9) Extend the full range of sanctions against Russia to Belarus, given its close links with Moscow and the part it played in the invasion of Ukraine.

10) Bring forward measures intended for the Economic Crime Bill to strengthen unexplained wealth orders and take action against kleptocrats that launder funds in the UK.

What Sanctions Were Already In Place?

Johnson announced the UK’s first set of measures against Putin on Tuesday which included sanctioning three wealthy allies of Putin and five Russian banks.

Alongside this, members of Russia’s lower parliamentary chamber, the Duma, and the Federation Council, who voted to recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, also face sanctions.

In addition, the territorial sanctions that were imposed on Crimea in the aftermath of the 2014 war will be extended to Donetsk and Luhansk, so no trade can be undertaken with UK individuals or businesses until they are returned to Ukrainian control.

How Will The New Sanctions Hurt Russia?

The sanctions announced today will hit the pockets of oligarchs, big banks and companies with direct links to the Kremlin.

On the five super-rich oligarchs being targeted, a diplomatic source said: “These are people who have international lifestyles.

“They come to Harrods to shop, they stay in our best hotels when they like, they send their children to our best public schools, and that is what’s being stopped.

“So that these people are essentially persona non grata in every major Western European capital in the world. That really bites.”

In Johnson’s words, the aim is to “hobble” the Russian economy and increase the pressure on Putin to end his military action in Ukraine.

Even before the sanctions take effect, Russia’s economy is already feeling the impact of the global condemnation of its invasion.

Some $250 billion has already been wiped from the value of Russia’s top companies – the biggest one day decline on record – while the rouble has plummeted to record lows against dollar.

What Has Been The Political Reaction To The Sanctions?

Unlike the response to the previous sanctions announcement, opposition parties have responded positively to the latest measures, while urging the prime minister to go further if necessary.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “I welcome the set of sanctions outlined by the prime minister today and pledge opposition support for further measures.

“And there are changes we must make here in the UK. For too long our country has been a safe-haven, for the money that Putin and his fellow bandits stole from the Russian people. It must change now.

“Cracking open the shell companies in which the stolen money is hidden will require legislation. Bring it forward immediately prime minister and Labour will support it.”

SNP leader Ian Blackford called for the “complete economic isolation” of Russia.

He said: “Let’s not fall for the Kremlin propaganda that they are prepared to soak up any sanctions. If we act now, if the sanctions are targeted enough, swift enough, severe enough, if we impose nothing less than economic isolation, Putin and his cronies will suffer the consequences of their actions.”

What Might Happen Next?

Western officials believe Putin is determined to capture the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and replace the pro-western president Volodymr Zelensky with a puppet regime.

They fear such an assault would lead to large numbers of civilian casualties and the conflict could lead to clashes with neighbouring countries such as Poland, a Nato member.

Under Article 5 of the Nato constitution, which decrees that an attack on one member is an attack on them all, this would lead to full-scale war between Russia and the west.

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Johnson: Putin’s Decision To Recognise Separatist Ukraine States ‘A Very Dark Sign’

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Boris Johnson has hinted Russia could face fresh sanctions as Vladimir Putin said he would recognise two breakaway republics in Ukraine.

The UK prime minister said the Russian president’s decision to acknowledge Donetsk and Luhansk’s claims to independence was a “very dark sign” that is “plainly in breach of international law”.

On Monday, the Ukraine crisis intensified as Putin used a long speech to recognise the two rebel-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine, which breaches the 2015 protocol that ended the conflict in Donbas.

The comments come amid mounting Western fears that Russia, which has massed an estimated 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s border, is poised to invade.

The move appears to have dashed hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough which had been raised with the possibility of talks between Putin and US president Joe Biden.

Johnson said he was considering whether the actions could trigger the imposition of fresh sanctions on Russia, as foreign secretary Liz Truss said Putin’s actions could not be allowed to go “unpunished”.

At a Downing Street press conference, the PM said: “This is plainly in breach of international law, it’s a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine.

“It is a repudiation of the Minsk process and the Minsk Agreements.

“I think it’s a very ill omen and a very dark sign.”

It was “yet another indication that things are moving in the wrong direction in Ukraine”.

The prime minister had previously said sanctions would be triggered if Russia invaded Ukraine.

But he said: “Plainly what has happened is extremely bad news and we will be urgently talking to our friends and allies around the world, all of whom are jointly signed up with us in this package of sanctions.”

Johnson said it was “becoming clear that we are going to need to start applying as much pressure as we possibly can”.

“It is hard to see how this situation improves,” he acknowledged.

But he added: “I think there’s a sort of chance that (Putin) could row back from this, and we’ve got to pray that that’s the case.”

The prime minister said he would speak to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to “offer him the support of the United Kingdom”.

Meanwhile, the foreign secretary said the recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic as independent states “demonstrates Russia’s decision to choose a path of confrontation over dialogue”.

“We will co-ordinate our response with allies,” she said.

“We will not allow Russia’s violation of its international commitments to go unpunished.”

The government has already promised a tougher sanctions regime to deal with any Russian transgression, with MPs expected to approve the new framework on Tuesday.

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: “This blatant breach of international law must be met with consequences from the international community.”

The European Union announced it would impose sanctions in response to Russia’s recognition of the two states.

In a joint statement, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel said it was an “illegal act”.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said: “This further undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, erodes efforts towards a resolution of the conflict, and violates the Minsk Agreements, to which Russia is a party.”

Earlier defence secretary Ben Wallace has said there was still “strong cause for concern” that Putin remained committed to an invasion of Ukraine, despite diplomatic moves to end the crisis.

In a Commons statement, he said Russian forces were continuing to move towards the border zone contrary to repeated assurances given by Moscow.

There were now more than 110 battalion tactical groups massed along the border while the Black Sea fleet included two amphibious groups and nine cruise missile-equipped ships with a further four cruise missile-capable vessels in the Caspian.

At the same time, he said there had been “a proliferation of false flag operations and propaganda stunts and Russian news outlets carrying fictitious allegations”.

Downing Street said intelligence reports suggested the Russian plan “has in effect already begun” and that it was “starting to play out in real time”.

Nevertheless Johnson’s official spokesman said there was still a “window for diplomacy” after it appeared that a tentative agreement had been reached on a crisis summit between Putin and Biden.

Following a series of lengthy calls involving French president Emmanuel Macron, the White House said talks could go ahead provided there had been no invasion.

However Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later that while the two leaders could meet if they considered it necessary, no plans for a summit had been agreed.

“It’s premature to talk about specific plans for a summit. The meeting is possible if the leaders consider it feasible,” he said.

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Tory Party Chair Oliver Dowden Likens ‘Woke Ideology’ To Maoism In Bizarre Speech

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Oliver Dowden has likened “social justice warriors” to communist dictator Mao Zedong in an extraordinary attack on so-called cancel culture in the UK and US.

The Tory party chairman and former culture secretary said a “painful woke psychodrama” was sweeping the west and putting individual freedoms at risk.

He made his comments in a speech to the pro-Trump Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.

Dowden said it was up to conservatives to “mount a vigorous defence of the values of a free society” which he claimed were under threat from “woke ideology”.

And he took aim at left-wing activists whom he accused of being “engaged in a form of Maoism determined to expunge large parts of our past in its entirety”, citing the defacing of a statue of Winston Churchill during protests in 2020.

The Tory party chairman said the “world watches” the relationship between America and its allies as they attempt to prevent Russian president Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine.

But Dowden said that just as “rogue states are seeking to challenge the international order…a pernicious ideology is sweeping our societies”.

“In Britain, its adherents sometimes describe themselves as social justice warriors,” he said.

“They claim to be woke, awakened to the so-called truths of our societies.

“But wherever they are found, they pursue a common policy inimicable to freedom.

“In their analysis, free speech is not a fundamental right necessary for the discovery of truth. To them, it is a dangerous weapon.”

He went on: “For all their fury at so called imperialism, these activists have absolutely nothing to say about that Vladimir Putin’s modern day empire building.

“Indeed, one of the perversities of this worldview is that the imperialist West is always at fault.”

Dowden claimed “woke” ideology is now “everywhere”.

“It’s in our universities, but also in our schools. In government bodies, but also in corporations. In social science faculties, but also in the hard sciences,” Dowden said.

“But I tell you, it is a dangerous form of decadence. Just when our attention should be focused on external foes, we seem to have entered this period of extreme introspection and self-criticism.

“And it really does threaten to sap our societies of their own self-confidence.

“Just when we should be showcasing the vitality of our values and the strength of democratic societies, we seem to be willing to abandon those values, for the sake of appeasing a new groupthink.

“The US and the UK may be different societies but we are joined by the same fundamental values.

“Neither of us can afford the luxury of indulging in this painful woke psychodrama.”

Alongside the attack on cancel culture and the culture wars, Dowden also hinted at an end to the big public spending and government interference that characterised the coronavirus response.

“We have reached a high watermark of the size of the state,” he said in a Q&A after his speech.

“We can’t repeat the mistakes we have seen in the past whereby in previous national crises, the state has expanded in scope and then has remained permanently much larger.

“We now need to embark on the course of making sure we rein in the size of the state, which in turn allows us to cut taxes.”

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Boris Johnson ‘Fears For The Security Of Europe’ As Tensions Grow Over Potential Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

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Boris Johnson “fears for the security of Europe” as tensions mount over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine and British people were urged to leave the country.

The UK prime minister voiced his concern during a call with Western leaders – including US president Joe Biden – as the Foreign Office updated its advice on Friday evening to urge UK nationals to “leave now while commercial means are still available”.

At the same time, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there is the “credible prospect” of an invasion of some sort taking place before the end of the Winter Olympics on February 20.

He said the Russians are in a position to “mount a major military operation in Ukraine any day now”, which could include a “rapid assault on the city of Kyiv” or on other parts of the country.

The warning was echoed by UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, who said warned an invasion could come “at any time”.

Tensions have heightened in the last 24 hours as Russian president Vladimir Putin has now amassed an estimated 130,000 troops on the border with Ukraine.

<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="US national security advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily White House press briefing.” width=”720″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/boris-johnson-fears-for-the-security-of-europe-as-tensions-grow-over-potential-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2.jpg”>
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily White House press briefing.

Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images

The Foreign Office followed the US in advising against all travel to Ukraine, with a spokesman saying: “The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, which is why we have updated our travel advice.

“We urge British nationals in Ukraine to leave now via commercial means while they remain available.”

After Johnson and world leaders held the virtual call, a No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister told the group that he feared for the security of Europe in the current circumstances.

“He impressed the need for Nato allies to make it absolutely clear that there will be a heavy package of economic sanctions ready to go, should Russia make the devastating and destructive decision to invade Ukraine.

“The prime minister added that president Putin had to understand that there would be severe penalties that would be extremely damaging to Russia’s economy, and that Allies needed to continue with efforts to reinforce and support the Eastern frontiers of Nato.

“He urged the leaders to work together to deliver economic and defensive support to Ukraine.

“The leaders agreed that if president Putin deescalated, there was another way forward, and they pledged to redouble diplomatic efforts in the coming days.”

Speaking from the White House, Sullivan said Russia could choose “in very short order to commence a major military action against Ukraine” but stressed the US does not know whether Putin has made a final decision.

Moscow denies it is planning an invasion and called the Western military actions provocations meant to bait Russia into war.

But diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have yet to yield results.

The two countries share a border, and between 1919 and 1991 Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in the early-1990s but maintained close economic and cultural links with Russia.

Russia has been trying to reunite with its neighbour even since, with Putin calling the break-up of the Soviet bloc the “greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century”.

It’s not entirely clear why Putin is acting now. There’s speculation he may be moving because the US looks weak following the messy evacuation from Afghanistan.

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Boris Johnson Dodges Questions On His Political Survival During Ukraine Press Conference

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Boris Johnson dodged uncomfortable questions about his political survival during a major press conference in Ukraine.

The prime minister was taking questions from journalists when he was asked about the partygate scandal rocking his premiership.

The BBC asked him: “Prime minister, first, have you done enough to survive? Have you done enough to persuade enough colleagues to rescue your premiership?

“And on the issue of Ukraine, why should the international community take your diplomacy seriously, when you’re so preoccupied at home, when you put talking to MPs ahead of talking to President Putin?”

Johnson simply responded by saying his focus was “entirely on delivering on the priorities of the British people” before going on to talk about the security of the UK’s allies.

However, later in the conference Johnson did appear to commit to publishing the full Sue Gray report into the partygate scandal once the Metropolitan police probe is complete.

“Yes, of course we’ll publish everything that we can as soon as the process has been completed,” he said.

It comes as a tenth Conservative MP went on the record calling for him to resign over the scandal.

The PM faced the cameras alongside Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky as part of a trip aimed at showing support for Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Johnson warned: “It goes without saying that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a political disaster, a humanitarian disaster, in my view it would also be for Russia, for the world, a military disaster as well.

“And the potential invasion completely flies in the face of president Putin’s claims to be acting in the interest of the Ukrainian people.”

Ahead of the talks in Kyiv, Johnson announced £88 million of new funding to promote stable governance in Ukraine and reduce its reliance on Russian energy supplies.

The prime minister had also been due to speak to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Monday afternoon, but it was postponed after Johnson had to give a statement to the house over the partygate scandal engulfing his government. The two leaders are now expected to speak on Wednesday afternoon.

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‘Very Significant Risk’ Russia Will Invade Ukraine, Says Dominic Raab

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There is a “very significant” risk that Russia will mount an invasion of Ukraine, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has warned.

Raab, the former foreign secretary, said the UK would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion, but said it was “extremely unlikely” the UK would send out troops to assist with any fightback.

Raab said the UK would instead levy economic and financial sanctions on Moscow as punishment.

“We will support them in defending themselves,” Raab told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday.

“But also, to the international community, to Nato allies in the West, we’re standing shoulder to shoulder saying there will be very serious consequences if Russia takes this move to try and invade and also install a puppet regime.”

Raab, who is also justice secretary, said it was “very clear there is a concerted not just military buildup on the border but a threat to the democracy, the integrity of Ukraine”.

Asked if the UK would send troops to help in the event of an invasion, Raab said: “It’s extremely unlikely we would do that but what we can say is we’re already willing and engaging in training programmes to support Ukrainians defending themselves, that’s absolutely right.”

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been high since Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of the Crimea in 2014.

There are currently 100,000 Russian troops amassed at the border with Ukraine, a former Soviet state. Moscow claims it has no intentions to invade and that they are there purely for military training purposes — but Ukraine is fearful of an incursion.

Russia has been locked in talks with the US to ease tensions but so far they have not found agreement.

Vladimir Putin’s list of demands — including a guarantee that Ukraine will never become a member of Nato, that Nato ends its security alliance with Ukraine and that numbers of Nato troops in eastern Europe are reduced — have been rejected as unreasonable by the West.

Asked by the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme if he thought Russia would invade, Raab said: “I think there is a very significant risk of it.”

He added: “The world needs to keep its eye on this and be very clear with President Putin that it would not do this cost-free, that there would be a price.”

In a statement on Saturday, the UK’s Foreign Office said it had “information” to suggest the Kremlin “was looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine”, citing former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev as a potential candidate.

According to Reuters, the Russian foreign ministry dismissed the claims as “disinformation” and accused Britain and Nato of “escalating tensions” over Ukraine.

Asked by Sky what the UK would do if its fears of a puppet regime in Ukraine materialised, Raab said: “We wouldn’t telegraph all of the measures that we would take, but it’s important that this very clear message not just from the UK, but from all Nato and other interested countries around the world who want to uphold the rule of law, that there’ll be very serious economic consequences.”

Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, said he believed Britain’s accusation that Putin is plotting to install a pro-Moscow leader as head of the government in Ukraine.

He told Sky News: “I do believe that. It’s not the first time they’re trying to do so, historically, and in recent times.”

Asked if he and the Ukrainian government genuinely feared an invasion from Putin, Prystaiko pointed out there has been a Russian presence for almost eight years.

He said the issue was whether thee would be a a “full-scale invasion” or “smaller things just to annoy us and the rest of the world to show his [Putin’s] strength”.

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Donald Trump Says US ‘Hasn’t Had Any Proof Yet’ Of Navalny Poisoning

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