Sunak condemns Farage’s Ukraine comments as ‘playing into Putin’s hands’

Water companies will not be allowed to “get away” with sewage dumping, Sir Ed Davey has warned as he fed chickens on a farm in East Sussex.

The Liberal Democrat leader was pecked by hungry farm birds he described as the “best photo chicken op ever” as he handed out grain and picked up the poultry at The Mac’s Farm in Ditchling.

Sir Keir Starmer has described Taylor Swift as “absolutely fantastic” after he was pictured attending her Friday night concert at Wembley Stadium.

The Labour leader shared a photograph of himself and his wife Victoria at the stadium on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

“‘Swift’ campaign pitstop,” the image was captioned.

Asked about his opinion of the American pop star’s performance by reporters on the campaign trail in south London, Sir Keir replied: “She was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.”

He added: “I know I will be asked what is my favourite song and I am not going to pretend I have got every album and know every song, although Change is the one for obvious reasons.”

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.

The Labour leader, and Britain’s former chief prosecutor, said he knew Mr Johnson’s instinct under pressure was to lie and detailed how he “forensically” led the then prime minister into misleading the House of Commons.

Sir Keir Starmer has outlined his party’s plans to tackle delayed compensation for those affected by the Windrush scandal.

The Labour leader met with people who came to Britain during that time and their family members at the Lilian Baylis Technology school in Vauxhall.

He said: “Today is Windrush day so it’s a day about telling the history of Windrush, the great contribution that’s been made to this country and the change that brought about, but it also needs to be a reset day.

“And that’s why I was very pleased to be able to talk to people about this reset today because the compensation scheme which is there to deal with the real injustice is going too slowly. We’ve got too many examples of people who’ve died before they’ve got the compensation that they’re entitled to.

“The Windrush unit needs to be re-established in the Home Office and we will set up a permanent commissioner to be a champion and an advocate for the Windrush generation to make sure that these injustices are put right.”

In response to comments from author and former Labour donor JK Rowling that the party had “abandoned” women, Sir Keir Starmer said he was proud of Labour’s track record on women’s rights.

He told reporters in Vauxhall: “I’m really proud of the long history of the Labour Party in making real progress on women’s rights, passing landmark legislation that has changed millions of lives.

“Now that battle is never over and we need to make further progress which we will hope to do if we earn the trust and confidence of the voters at the General Election.

“As we do so, I’m also determined that one of the changes that we will bring about if we win the election is a reset of politics, to make sure that as we make progress, we do it in a context that brings people together and all dialogue all debate is always done with respect for the views of everybody involved in those progress and in that discussion.”

Nigel Farage’s comments on the invasion of Ukraine were “disgraceful” and anyone standing for parliament should make clear Russia is the aggressor, Sir Keir Starmer said.

Speaking to reporters during a campaign visit in London, the Labour leader said: “On the question of Farage, his comments were disgraceful.

“Anyone who is standing for Parliament ought to be really clear that Russia is the aggressor, Putin bears responsibility, and that we stand with Ukraine, as we have done from the beginning of this conflict, and Parliament has spoken with once voice on this since the beginning of the conflict.”

Sir Keir added: “I have been really clear that we stand with Ukraine, I have been really clear that we are unshakeable in our commitment to Nato because this is about defending Ukraine, but it is also about defending our hard-won democracy and freedom, and anybody standing for public office ought to understand that.”

Vladimir Putin and Russia are to blame for the invasion of Ukraine, not the West, Sir Ed Davey said in response to Nigel Farage’s comments.

The Lib Dem leader told broadcasters on a visit to south east England: “It is Putin and Russia who are to blame for this, no one else.

“I strongly support the efforts that Britain has made to support Ukrainians. I wish we had done more actually, and I think British people would be shocked if we do anything else.”

He also said: “I don’t share any values with Nigel Farage.”

Sir Ed went on: “My message to the British people we need to support the Ukrainian people.

“This is a time of deep insecurity in our world. I’m worried when I look to later this year, if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, it’s possible that the United States will give less support to Ukraine and Britain and the rest of Europe will have to stand up and work together.”

All political parties must commit to proper compensation for victims of the Windrush scandal, Sir Ed Davey has said.

Asked about Labour’s promise to expedite compensation, the Lib Dem leader said: “I think that’s right. I think we have been disappointed that the Conservatives said they were going to compensate people affected by the Windrush scandal.

“I think the British public want them to, they’ve seen how people have been so badly treated.”

He added: “I think all parties should commit to proper compensation for people who’ve been victims of the Windrush scandal.”

Rishi Sunak has said Labour should not be allowed to “sleepwalk into Number 10” amid claims colleagues are focusing on preventing a Labour “supermajority”.

When asked by broadcasters if he was “deluded” for thinking he could win the election, Mr Sunak said: “Of course I’m going to fight hard until the last day of this election because there is a choice for the country.

“Continue having your taxes cut with the Conservatives, providing you with that financial security, protecting your pension, getting down immigration. The alternative is handing a blank cheque to the Labour Party, and once you’ve handed them a blank cheque you won’t be able to get it back. And that means your taxes are going to go up by thousands of pounds.

“Don’t let Labour sleepwalk into Number 10, scrutinise their plans, ask what it means for you and your family.

“Can you really afford Labour’s thousands of pounds of tax rises? I want to keep cutting your taxes. That’s the choice that everyone has in front of them in a couple of weeks’ time.”