Month: August 2022

Mr Johnson said the West must “stay the course” on Ukraine despite rising living costs, driven by the war.

He said while energy bills were high “the people of Ukraine are paying in their blood” for Russia’s “evils”.

Mr Johnson visited the capital Kyiv to mark Ukraine’s independence day.

A close ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Johnson was making his third visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded six months ago.

He claimed Western unity on Ukraine was “growing” despite reports of waning support among European countries as rising energy prices cripple the global economy.

In the UK, the inflation rate is forecast to hit a 42-year high of 13.3% this year, while the economy is expected to shrink for more than a year.

The Bank of England said the main reason for high inflation and low growth was rising energy bills, fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

European countries have accused Russia – a major global supplier of energy – of using gas as a weapon by limiting supplies in response to sanctions.

Mr Johnson acknowledged Western countries had paid a heavy price, including the UK, where Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “ruinous war” had sent energy bills skyrocketing.

“We know the coming winter will be tough and Putin will manipulate Russian energy supplies to try to torment households across Europe,” Mr Johnson said. “Our first test as friends of Ukraine will be to face down and endure that pressure.”

During the trip, he vowed that Ukraine “can and will win this war” against a “barbaric and illegal invader”.

The prime minister also announced a further £54m military support package for Ukraine.

This includes 2,000 drones and loitering munitions which Downing Street said would help Ukraine “to better track and target invading Russian forces”.

The UK is one of the leading donors of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian targets prosecuting or linked to the war.

It is likely to be Mr Johnson’s final visit to the country as UK prime minister, as he is due to leave office on 6 September.

Mr Johnson said the UK military aid would “give the brave and resilient Ukrainian Armed Forces another boost in capability, allowing them to continue to push back Russian forces and fight for their freedom”.

He was presented with the Order of Liberty – Ukraine’s highest award that can be given to foreign nationals.

And, appearing with Mr Johnson in Ukraine’s capital, Mr Zelensky unveiled a plaque for the UK prime minister on the “alley of bravery” outside the Ukrainian parliament.

In a Facebook post, Mr Zelensky said he was “glad to welcome” Mr Johnson who he described as “a great friend of Ukraine”.

He thanked the UK prime minister for “the uncompromising support of our country from the first days of full-scale Russian aggression, for the steadfast defence of Ukraine’s interests in the international arena!

“Our country is lucky to have such a friend!”

Boris Johnson referenced how President Putin is effectively using the energy crisis as an indirect weapon of war – to “torment households.”

His message to the public that they must “endure” that pressure is striking.

It sounds like an admission that we are vulnerable to such indirect “weapons of war” because we have not yet secured our own energy independence through homegrown supplies.

If we had done that, we would not be as exposed to international price shocks.

He may not have meant it as such, but his words serve as a challenge to whoever succeeds him as prime minister.

They are under pressure to help households with their winter fuel bills, ahead of the energy price cap announcement on Friday.

But they will also need to show how they can rapidly fix the fundamental problem, of domestic supplies not meeting demand.

Other world leaders have also paid tribute to Ukraine as the country marks 31 years since it gained independence from Russia.

US President Joe Biden said Ukrainians have “inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom”.

Mr Biden also confirmed $3bn (£2.5bn) of fresh US military support for Ukraine – the biggest American package yet – which will help Ukraine to acquire weaponry and equipment.

Mr Zelensky said he was grateful to the US for their “unwavering support”.

The Ukrainian president has vowed to “liberate” all of his country’s territories occupied by Russia without “any concession or compromise”.

Elsewhere, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer met Ukrainian soldiers being trained by British Army officials at Salisbury Plain.

He said: “The UK remains totally united in the face of Russian aggression. Our commitment to the Ukrainian people will never waver.”

Mr Sunak – chancellor in the pandemic – told the Spectator magazine there had not been enough discussion about the negative side-effects of lockdowns.

He said he had felt “emotional” when he argued to keep schools in England open.

Mr Sunak said it had been “wrong” to scare people with campaign posters showing Covid patients on ventilators.

His comments come as the Conservative leadership contest enters it final days, with the results due on 5 September.

The winner of the contest – Mr Sunak or Foreign Secretary Liz Truss – will replace Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and as prime minister.

During the campaign both candidates have sought to highlight areas where they disagreed with the government in which they served, with Ms Truss saying she was opposed to the rise to National Insurance.

Mr Sunak and Ms Truss are due to take part in a hustings for Conservative Party members in Norwich on Thursday evening.

As chancellor from February 2020 to July 2022, Mr Sunak played a key role in the government’s response to coronavirus, including establishing the furlough scheme.

Speaking to the Spectator, Mr Sunak insisted he did not want to blame individuals but said he believes a series of mistakes were made by ministers during the pandemic.

He said ministers were not given enough information to scrutinise analysis produced by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – a group of independent experts advising the government.

“We shouldn’t have empowered the scientists in the way we did,” he is quoted as saying.

Mr Sunak says ministers should have talked more about what he described as the “trade-offs” of lockdowns, such as NHS backlogs and the impact of children’s education.

“The script was not to ever acknowledge them. The script was: oh there’s no trade-off, because doing this for our health is good for the economy.

“Those meetings were literally me around that table, just fighting. It was incredibly uncomfortable every single time.

“I was like: Forget about the economy. Surely we can all agree that kids not being in school is a major nightmare. There was a big silence afterwards. It was the first time someone had said it. I was so furious.”

The Department of Health has been contacted for a response to Mr Sunak’s comments.

It comes after a report from MPs last year said the UK should have acted sooner to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the government has set up an independent public inquiry into its handling of Covid.

Potential scenarios – including rationing electricity – will be wargamed over four days, rather than the usual two, as energy concerns grow.

The government insists there is no risk to UK energy supplies and consumers should not panic.

But industry insiders told the BBC ministers need to do more to secure supplies this winter.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng had not sought any advice from government officials on the possibility of rationing energy before the end of June, his department confirmed in response to a BBC Freedom of Information request.

Government sources said this was because the UK had one of the most “reliable and diverse energy systems in the world” thanks to its investment in renewables, nuclear and the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Downing Street has insisted households and businesses will not face blackouts this winter, telling them not to feel they should cut down on energy use.

But energy experts expressed surprise that Mr Kwarteng had not sought advice on the powers available to him in an emergency to ration supplies, particularly as other countries were working on such plans.

A global squeeze on the supply of gas since late last year has destabilised the global economy, increased living costs, and sent household energy bills skyrocketing.

The Electricity Supply Emergency Code describes the steps Mr Kwarteng could take to ration electricity, should that become necessary.

One course of action includes “rota disconnections”, which involves limiting or cutting power to some customers on a rotational basis to reduce demand.

Keith Bell, professor of electronic and electrical engineering at Strathclyde University, said cutting some gas supplies to large industrial users was a “credible scenario that we need to be ready for”.

“Codes defining what should happen in the event of gas or electricity shortages and who is responsible for what – including the role of the secretary of state – have existed for many years but haven’t had to be used” he added.

“A lesson from the pandemic is the need for preparedness and to test emergency arrangements to be sure that they’re fit for purpose.”

He identified the UK’s dependence on gas imports from abroad and the lack of storage capacity as two major supply risks heading into winter.

Last year, almost 40% of the UK’s electricity was generated by burning gas, while 38% of overall energy supply was imported from abroad.

Charles McAllister, director of policy for lobby group UK Onshore Oil and Gas, said the UK was “at the highest risk of loss of energy supply in decades”.

He said the annual National Grid exercise would assess the extent to which energy demand can be reduced, especially from heavy industry, to mitigate supply risk.

The exercise, which gets under way next month, will involve government agencies, regulators, lobby groups and major energy firms.

Called Exercise Degree, it will simulate scenarios in which a loss of gas supply triggers an emergency situation for the UK’s energy system.

Two industry sources said the difficult energy situation globally and how seriously preparations for that were being taken were factors in the exercise’s expansion to four days.

One scenario explored during last year’s two-day exercise involved “turning off major users” of gas in response to a pumping station issue, a source said.

Meanwhile, some major economies such as Germany and France have made plans for energy rationing should Russia – a major supplier of gas to Europe – turn off the taps this winter.

Energy prices have risen sharply because demand for gas has increased markedly since Covid-19 restrictions ended and the war in Ukraine disrupted supplies from Russia.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the UK had “one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world”.

Unlike much of the rest of Europe, the spokesperson added, “we are not dependent on Russian energy imports meaning households, businesses and industry can be confident they will get the electricity and gas they need”.

But Labour’s shadow net zero and climate secretary, Ed Miliband, said the Conservative government’s policies had “left bills too high and our energy security too weak”.

“Their short-sightedness has been staggering – from closing our gas storage facilities, to failing to insulate houses and cut bills, and blocking the quickest, cheapest and cleanest renewables in their energy strategy,” the former Labour leader said.