Germany has rejected Keir Starmer’s peace plan for Britain to deploy troops to Ukraine to support any proposed peacekeeping deal.
The Prime Minister had declared that the UK should take centre stage in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine – which would involve putting British troops “in harm’s way” to police a potential ceasefire.
In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed the proposal as “completely premature” and “highly inappropriate”, admitting that he was “a little irritated” after yesterday’s meeting of Europe’s leaders in Paris yesterday.
Scholz left the meeting early as rifts between national leaders became evidence over the future of a “European army” to maintain the peace.
While Britain, France and Sweden favoured the idea of supporting Ukraine with a peacekeeping force, Germany, Poland and Spain were seemingly reluctant towards the strategy.
“It is completely premature and the completely wrong time to be having this discussion now. I am even a little irritated by these debates,” Scholz told reporters.
He explained that such negotiations on troops’ deployment were being conducted “over the heads of Ukrainians about the outcome of peace talks that haven’t even started”.
He added: “This is highly inappropriate, to put it bluntly and honestly – we don’t even know what the outcome will be.”
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‘The trademark of every Labour Government!’ Tories hit out at Reeves’ ‘disastrous Budget’ as unemployment figures increase
The Conservatives have leapt at the opportunity to criticise Reeves’ “disastrous Budget” as unemployment figures have increased in the latest figures released this morning.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the unemployment rate between October and December 2024 had risen to 4.4 per cent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points on the last quarter.
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Mel Stride said: “News this morning that unemployment has gone up over the last three months is the latest failure at the hands of this Chancellor.
“Because of her disastrous Budget, firms are shredding thousands of jobs as the Bank of England predict unemployment to rise further – the trademark of every Labour government.”
Badenoch slams ECHR for allowing foreign criminals to dodge deportation – ‘The public are enraged!’
Badenoch slams ECHR for allowing foreign criminals to dodge deportation – ‘The public are enraged!’
PA
Kemi Badenoch has said the immigration case on chicken nuggets has illustrated how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is being weaponised to dodge deportation.
Addressing the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference yesterday, she called the ECHR one of the “loopholes in liberalism”.
Her speech followed a number of cases where illegal migrants or foreign criminals “exploited” such laws to stay in the UK or put off their eventual deportation – including a case of an Albanian criminal who was not deported as his son did not like foreign chicken nuggets.
In London, Badenoch said: “The current system is being exploited. The public are enraged at the perception that the UK has become a haven for foreign criminals.
“The most extraordinary example is how the European Convention on Human Rights, designed to stop the persecution of individuals by the state, is now weaponised by those who wish to erode our national identity and border security.”
Ukraine peacekeeping force would be greater than that of Afghan war, ex Tory minister warns
A European peacekeeping force in Ukraine would be a larger commitment than the Afghanistan war, an ex-Tory minister has warned.
Former Defence Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson has added that such a promise from the PM could even risk direct conflict – although he admitted that Britain must take on a leadership role.
Williamson said: “It is right that Britain takes a leadership role, but there has to be a reality check in that it is going to be incredibly expensive, not just in equipment but also in personnel.”
He told The i: “What we are talking about is a significant commitment that will actually be more significant than even the Afghan war, because in the Afghan war you were not dealing with a peer enemy.”