Starmer says Reform UK should launch investigation into other potential pro-Russia links after jailing of Nathan Gill
Starmer is responding to Badenoch.
He says it is important that the Commons stays united on Ukraine. He thanks Badenoch for her support, and acknowledges the work done by the previous government.
On Russia joining the G7, he says any decision about that is a long way off. The priority now is getting a lasting peace settlement.
He says he wants to support what Badenoch said about Reform UK. (See 12.56pm.) He goes on
It is shocking, that a senior official, the leader in Wales, has been jailed for over ten years for pro-Russia bribes. That is extraordinary.
And that is why I say the Reform leadership should have the courage to launch an investigation. How on earth did that happen? And what other links are there?
Reform, with the pro-Putin approach, would have absolutely no role in bringing allies together on important issues.
Key events
Back in the Commons Jim Allister (TUV) asks Starmer to confirm that the UK is not putting pressure on Ukraine to cede territory.
Starmer says that what is key for him is that Ukraine must agree to any proposal.
Yohannes Lowe, Amy Sedghi and Jakub Krupa have more details of what Ukraine has, and has not, said about the peace proposals on our Europe live blog.
Starmer urges MPs to ignore reports Ukraine has agreed to peace deal, saying they just refer to partial, draft text
In the course of a reply to Racheal Maskell (Lab), Starmer give MPs an update on the reports first mentioned by Alex Sobel (see 1.29pm) about Ukraine accepting the peace deal. He said:
My understanding is this is not a new agreement, it is Ukraine confirming they are happy with the draft that emerged in Geneva yesterday, which of course doesn’t cover the question of territory.
So my best understanding is this is a confirmation of basically what came out of Geneva but it isn’t a new set of proposals or agreements in any way.
Mark Pritchard (Con) said he understood that the reports referred to by Alex Sobel earlier (see 1.29pm) about Ukraine supposedly agreeing to a peace deal came from a single, unnamed US official. He said he was worried the Ukrainians were being bounced.
Starmer said his “instinct” was to believe that Ukraine has not agreed to a deal. He said he spoke to President Zelenskyy four hours ago, and got a very good sense of where he is at.
Starmer tells Reform UK’s Richard Tice ‘you can’t be pro-Putin and pro-Ukraine’
Alex Barros-Curtis (Lab) also condemned the “treachery” of Nathan Gill. He pointed out that Nigel Farage was not in the chamber, and also called for Reform to investigate what happened.
Starmer agreed. He said it should be “deeply uncomfortable” for Reform MPs to have to listen to this, knowing their party is taking no action.
Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, was the next person to speak. He said last year he donated a five-figure sum, bought a truck, filled with supplies, and with colleagues drove it to Ukraine to donate to soldiers fighting for their country. He said his support for Ukraine was rock solid.
Starmer said Tice should have said Reform will investigate the bribery case. Tice may have donated to Ukraine, he said. But, he went on:
The simple fact is this. You can’t be pro-Putin and pro-Ukraine. You have to decide between the two. And Reform is pro-Putin.
A Reform UK leader has just been convicted for taking pro-Putin bribes, he said.
Paul Waugh (Lab) asked Keir Starmer if shared his disgust at the “treacherous actions” of Nathan Gill, and if he agreed that Reform UK’s refusal to launch an investigation just showed they were “Putin’s poodles”.
In response, Starmer said he agreed. He went on:
Any other party would want to investigate to assure itself how did this happen.
This is not a minor transgression. This is something [that attracted a 10-year jail sentence] because it undermines our country.
Surely the Reform leadership will want to know how did that happen on their watch.
Also, what other links are there between their party and Russia?
No wonder they are Putin friendly. There is no point standing up and saying you support Ukraine if within your own party, if you are pro-Russian.
Alex Sobel (Lab) asked Starmer to respond to what he described as reports just coming out of the US saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just agreed to the Trump peace proposal.
Starmer said he spoke to Zelenskyy this morning. He said he would look into the report that Sobel was referring to. But he said the report was probably just a reference to progress on the talks process, not Ukraine agreeing in full to a peace plan.
It is not clear what Sobel was referring to. He may have made the mistake of believing claims on X.
Volodymyr Zelenskky, the Ukrainian president, posted in the last half hour on social media, after talks with the German chancellor and he did not say anything about accepting the US peace plan.
Starmer says asking Ukraine to give up territory it current holds ‘obviously unacceptable’ and not a serious idea
Edward Leigh, the Conservative father of the house, asked Starmer if he agreed it would be totally unacceptable for Ukraine to be asked to give up territory it currently holds.
This was one of the proposals in the original, leaked 28-point peace plan.
Starmer said he agreed. The idea that Ukraine should have to give up land it now holds was “so obviously unacceptable it shouldn’t be seen as a serious proposition”, he said.
Starmer sidesteps Lib Dem call for wider probe into Russian interference in democracy in light of Gill’s bribery conviction
Daisy Cooper, the deputy Lib Dem leader, said many people were worried that President Trump will betray Ukraine. She said the leaked plan read like a “Russian wishlist”.
She also backed Starmer in saying Reform UK should conduct an inquiry into pro-Russian bribes. But she said the government should also launch its own inquiry into Russian interference in British democracy.
And, on the G20, she said Starmer did not mention China in his statement, even though he met the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, at the summit.
In response, Starmer said foreign intererence in British democracy was a matter of “deep concern”. But he did not promise inquiry.
As for meeting Li at the summit, Starmer said they shook hands when they saw each other in the leaders’ lounge. It would have been discourteous not to, he said. But they did not have a substantive discussion, he said.
Starmer says Reform UK should launch investigation into other potential pro-Russia links after jailing of Nathan Gill
Starmer is responding to Badenoch.
He says it is important that the Commons stays united on Ukraine. He thanks Badenoch for her support, and acknowledges the work done by the previous government.
On Russia joining the G7, he says any decision about that is a long way off. The priority now is getting a lasting peace settlement.
He says he wants to support what Badenoch said about Reform UK. (See 12.56pm.) He goes on
It is shocking, that a senior official, the leader in Wales, has been jailed for over ten years for pro-Russia bribes. That is extraordinary.
And that is why I say the Reform leadership should have the courage to launch an investigation. How on earth did that happen? And what other links are there?
Reform, with the pro-Putin approach, would have absolutely no role in bringing allies together on important issues.
Kemi Badenoch is responding to Starmer.
Commenting on Russia, she asked the PM to rule out readmitting Russia to the G7.
She agrees with Starmer that elements of the 28-point plan were unacceptable.
She asks if Starmer would support the hand over of some Ukrainian territory to Russia.
She urges the government to work closely with the US – and criticises parties like the Lib Dems and the Greens for urging Britain to dissociate itself from the US, which would undermine British security, she says.
And she says it is a “disgrace” that Reform UK is still blaming Nato for Russian aggression. But it is no surprise, given the conviction of Nathan Gill, she says.
Starmer confirms UK will hold presidency of G20 in 2027
Referring to the G20 summit, Starmer sums up some of the deals that were confirmed when he was there.
And he says it has been confirmed that the UK will hold the presidency of the G20 in 2027, for the first time since 2009.
Starmer says parts of leaked 28-point US peace plan for Ukraine ‘not acceptable’, but other elements ‘essential’
Keir Starmer is now making his Commons statement about the G20 summit.
He starts by talking about Ukraine.
He says he has spoken to other leaders recently. He wants a “just and lasting peace”, he says. And he says both words – just and lasting – are important.
He says the 28-point plan, drawn up by the US and Russia and leaked last week, contained elements that were “not acceptable”.
But it also contained elements that will be “essential”, he says.
He says he is clear about some fundamental principles. “Ukraine’s sovereignty must be maintained and that Ukraine should be able to defend itself in the future,” he says. He says Ukraine’s voice must be heard. And a solution will need the consent of Nato, and of Nato, he says.
He says he will be speaking to other “Coalition of the Willing” partners later today.
Starmer says Russia is an ongoing threat to British security. He says two Russian ships have been intercepted in British waters in recent weeks.
He says last night he celebrated his daughter’s 15 birthday. Later that night he saw TV footage of a girl about the same age “being pulled from the rubble of a building in Ukraine where her mother had just been killed”.
He goes on:
It’s abhorrent beyond belief that Ukraine lives the same story every night in their cities and every day on the front line where so many Ukrainians are killed fighting for their freedom.
We should not forget that Putin’s aggression, his illegal actions and his total disregard for human life has taken a huge toll on his own people. Thousands of Russian soldiers are killed every single day – 100,000 have been killed attacking Donetsk.
In total, more than one million Russians have been killed or injured because of the depraved ambition of one man.
So we say again, this country will never falter in our support for the Ukrainian people.
Reeves says Motability scheme will no longer pay for luxury cars, and says half its vehicles should be British-built by 2035
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has announced that luxury cars will no longer be available under the Motablity scheme, a government programme that allows some people claiming disability benefits to access a subsidised vehicle if they have difficulty using public transport.
She has also said that, by 2035, half of all cars leased under the scheme should be British built.
In a statement released by Motability Operations, the organisation that runs the scheme, Reeves says:
Backing British car manufacturing will support thousands of well paid, skilled jobs and is exactly the long-term investment our Modern Industrial Strategy delivers.
We are growing the economy to bring down debt, cut NHS waiting lists and cut the cost of living.
People will no longer be able to use the scheme to get cars like Mercedes Benz and BMW
The Treasury has announced more details of the plan to extend the sugar levy to milk-based drinks. (See 12.24pm.)
Streeting confirms sugar tax being extended to cover milkshakes and other milk drinks
In the Commons Wes Streeting has just confirmed that the soft drinks industry levy (aka the sugar tax – see 9.44am) is being expanded to cover “bottles and cartons of milkshakes, flavoured milk and milk substitute drinks”.
He said the government was also reducing the threshold to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml.
Minister says use of private money to fund new health centres will be ‘fundamentally different’ from flawed PFI schemes
Karin Smyth, the secondary care minister, has rejected suggestions that the use of private finance to fund some of the proposed new neighbourhood health centres.
During health questions, Luke Evans, a Conservative health spokesperson, raised concerns that the use of private money to fund some of the centres announced today could lead to a repeat of past PFI (private finance initiative) mistakes. (See 10.12am.) Evans said that, under Labour, the government used PFI to secure investment in hospitals worth £13bn, at an ultimate cost to the public sector of £80bn. He asked for a “cast-iron guarantee” that would not happen again.
Smyth claimed that, unlike the last Tory government, Labour had learned the lessons from those mistakes. She said the new schemes would “fundamentally different”. The new health centres would be publicly owned, she said.
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