Foreign secretary David Lammy has been speaking at the G20 foreign ministerial meeting in South Africa.

Referring to the Ukraine war, he criticised Russia for having “learned nothing”, adding: “we are at a crucial juncture in this conflict, and Russia faces a test”.

He said that the only “just and lasting peace” will be a peace “consistent with the UN charter” which “rejects Tsarist imperialism”.

Lammy was also critical of Russian minister for foreign affairs [Sergei] Lavrov for his “logic of imperialism dressed up as realpolitik”.

He said:

You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and their wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries.

But I’m afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing.

I listened carefully to minister Lavrov’s intervention just now – he’s, of course, left his seat – hoping to hear some readiness to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.

I was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression.

I was hoping to hear some readiness to seek a durable peace.

What I heard was the logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik, and I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.

We are at a crucial juncture in this conflict, and Russia faces a test.

If Putin is serious about a lasting peace, it means finding a way forward which respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and the UN Charter which provides credible security guarantees, and which rejects Tsarist imperialism, and Britain is ready to listen.

But we expect to hear more than the Russian gentleman’s tired fabrications.

Nigel Farage has declared he has handed over Reform UK to its 200,000 members, but the party now appears to be owned by a not-for-profit company controlled by its leader and chair.

Farage announced last year that he would “democratise” the party after receiving criticism for it being a private company majority controlled by the leader, not a members’ association like other parties.

The company that owns Reform now appears to be owned by a new not-for-profit company, Reform 2025, which so far has just two members and two directors: Farage and Zia Yusuf.

It was previously owned by a limited company majority controlled by Farage but with stakes also held by Yusuf, Richard Tice, the deputy leader, and Mehrtash A’zami, the party secretary.

It is understood this is the permanent new structure of Reform and that Farage and Yusuf are guarantors for the company, and would be replaced if new people took on those roles. The party’s filings to Companies House says there is no person in overall control.

You can read the full report here:

We have more from PA Media from the defence secretary, John Healey, in Norway.

Healey said that Britain will support Ukraine on the “battlefield and the negotiating table”.

But said talks about peacekeeping forces were “jumping ahead of ourselves”, PA Media reports.

Formal negotiations were still yet to start, he said, despite initial talks between the US and Russia taking place. He repeated that Ukraine needed to be involved in final talks.

He said:

In many ways we’re jumping ahead of ourselves. Our prime minister had made the commitment that if we reach a ceasefire, we reach an end to the fighting, security guarantees will be needed and Britain is ready to play a full part in that and we’re leading some of the detailed discussions about what may be needed, but I am certainly not going to give you any detail that is going to make president Putin the wiser.

He added:

Fundamentally though, the war is still being fought. Russia is still bombing, firing on, launching drones, not just on Ukrainian troops but on Ukrainian cities.

The Ukrainians are still fighting and our job is to support them in that fight, to keep them as strong as they can be when they come to the negotiating table. Support them on the battlefield, support them at the negotiating table when they choose to do so.

More from the press conference earlier with defence secretary John Healey.

Russia’s threat to Europe stretches beyond its war in Ukraine, John Healey said.

The defence secretary said the reason for his visit to Norway, during which he met with his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik, was to present a united front against Vladimir Putin’s forces.

He said:

One of the reasons that I wanted to join Tore here in Norway was also to remind people that we look at the Russian war in Ukraine, but Russia remains a threat beyond Ukraine, and Russia’s aggression is not confined to Ukraine and we have to meet that challenge and confront that together.

We have more on defence secretary John Healey speaking about the UK’s defence agreement with Norway.

Discussing the declaration that both countries have signed, Mr Healey told a press conference earlier:

This is a now, a once-in-a-generation opportunity, the chance to deepen further that military, industry and nation partnership between our two countries.

So we have, today, signed an agreement, a declaration that we will work now to forge a deep, ambitious new defence agreement and we’ll do that by the summer.

Mr Healey also said that Norway and the UK will “step up further” the support to Ukraine, PA Media reports.

He later added:

We’ve said as two European nations that we will step up further the support we give to Ukraine. Ukraine is still fighting. We must keep them in the fight. We must try and keep them strong to secure that peace for the long-term.

Commenting on Nigel Farage’s response to Donald Trump calling President Zelenskyy a “dictator”, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said on X:

So Nigel Farage has chosen to explain away Trump’s outrageous remarks about President Zelensky instead of doing the right thing and condemning them. Deeply disappointing but not at all surprising.

He sounds like a spokesman for Trump. He certainly doesn’t speak for Britain.

Nigel Farage has attacked people suggesting that the UK did not hold elections during the second world war, and said that it was “about time the British media woke up to the truth of that.”

Put to him on GB News that his suggestion Ukraine have a timeline for elections during wartime contradicted the UK’s own wartime history of suspending them, Farage disputed the claim that there was no general election during the second world war.

The 1945 United Kingdom general election was held on 5 July 1945, 58 days after victory in Europe was declared on VE-day in May 1945, but prior to the surrender of the Japanese in the Pacific theatre of war.

Speaking from Washington, the MP for Clacton told viewers back in the UK:

As you well know, I’m a keen student of history, so let’s get this on the record, very clearly, the United Kingdom held a general election during world war two in the summer of 1945. We were still at war with Japan …. the nuclear bomb had not been dropped. There were British soldiers dying in large numbers every single day in Japanese camps. There was vicious fighting going on.

Farage was interrupted by a presenter interjecting with “there was peace in Europe,” to which Farage replied:

We were at war. World war two was still going on. So just as a matter of historical fact, I think it’s about time the British media woke up to the truth of that.

The UK went from November 1935 to July 1945 without an election, and during the first world war period went from December 1910 to December 1918 without a general election.

The leader of Reform UK has compared the cancellation of local elections in England to the situation in Ukraine in an attempt to explain why Donald Trump has labelled Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator”.

Having said that Trump’s words should be taken “seriously” but not “literally”, Nigel Farage said “Let’s be clear, Zelensky is not a dictator, but, but it’s only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for elections.”

Speaking to GB News from Washington, the MP for Clacton then continued:

I mean, after all, I recently said that I thought Keir Starmer was behaving like a dictator because he’s cancelled the vote of five-and-a-half million people in local elections on 1 May. So no, he’s not a dictator, but there needs to be a timeline so that the Ukrainian people can vote on a peace deal.

Ukrainian martial law, which the country has been under since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, prevents elections taking place. It is unclear how Ukraine, during wartime, would manage the practicality of allowing a large number of refugees to vote from overseas, or administrate elections in the four regions which Russia has claimed to annex and partially occupies.

Farage said “I’m not suggesting Ukraine has an election tomorrow. But once we see the shape of a peace deal, then of course there should be an election.”

Local elections in nine areas of England have been delayed while Labour devolution reform causes reorganisation from two-tier council areas into authorities with regional mayors. At the time the election suspension was announced Angela Rayner said the government was not in the business of holding elections for local councils that would no longer exist, as it would be a waste of taxpayer money.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has broken his silence on Donald Trump’s comments that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying “Let’s be clear, Zelenskyy is not a dictator, but it’s only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for elections.”

Speaking from Washington to GB News, the MP for Clacton explained the delay in commenting was down to him being on a plane to the US, saying:

You should always take everything Donald Trump says seriously. You shouldn’t always take things that Donald Trump says absolutely literally. And I think that applies very much in this case.

There’s a lot of bad blood between president Trump and previous Ukrainian leaders. You know, the impeachment that happened was all because of a relationship between the Ukrainian government and the Biden family. So let’s be clear. Zelensky is not a dictator, but, but it’s only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for elections.

Trump’s first impeachment was moved after he was accused of “a betrayal of his oath of office, a betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” by pressuring Zelenskyy to state in public an investigation was being opened against Joe Biden in the run-up to the US election, which Trump repeatedly disputed he lost.

The UK and Norway have started negotiations on a new defence pact aimed at what the countries perceive as a threat from Russia in the Arctic.

Defence secretary John Healey and his counterpart, Tore Sandvik, started the talks as they met at Norwegian Joint Headquarters, PA Media reports.

PA is carrying some pre-released quotes attributed to Healey, which were embargoed until 13.45. In them, the defence secretary, who earlier this week announced a significant reform of the Ministry of Defence and armed forces in the UK, said:

Kickstarting work on a deep, ambitious new defence agreement with Norway shows the UK promise to step up on European security in action.

Norway remains one of the UK’s most important allies. We will create a new era of defence partnership to bring us closer than ever before as we tackle increasing threats, strengthen Nato, and boost our security in the high north.

Local authorities in Scotland will need to increase council tax bills by almost a fifth if they are to keep pace with increases to local government funding in England, a thinktank has found.

A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) noted “core spending power” for local government and schools in England is set to increase by 7.4% in real-terms between 2023-24 and 2025-26.

With schools in Scotland funded by local councils, the IFS said: “To match this, Scottish councils would need to increase their council tax by an average of 18-19%.”

After council tax charges were frozen by the Scottish government for 2024-25, East Lothian council has already voted to increase bills for its residents by 10% in 2025-26 - with other local authorities expected to impose similar rises, PA Media reports.

David Phillips, associate director at the IFS, said:

If you look at the funding the Scottish government is providing to councils in Scotland and you compare that to what is being provided in England, the increases in England over the last two years, the core funding from the Scottish government isn’t keeping pace with what has been happening in England in the last two years.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy made a passionate defence of the value of the arts in the UK’s cultural and economic life as she launched a new Labour government initiative, a £270m Arts Everywhere fund for arts venues, museums, libraries and the heritage sector.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Nandy was challenged that a new European security framework and pressure for increased defence spending was liable to take chunks out of her budget in the near future. She said:

Look, we’ve had a decade where funding to the arts, funding for communities has been slashed. We’ve seen culture erased from our classrooms and our communities. It’s economic madness.

This is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK – film, music, literature, TV. We export them all over the world. We’ve got countries clamouring to invest here in the UK. Some of the biggest streamers in the world, who want to invest more in the UK, but it takes support from the government

That’s why today, on the 60th anniversary of Jenny Lee’s seminal arts white paper, we’re launching the Arts Everywhere fund.

Too many people have seen arts and culture erased from their communities and it’s costing this country dear.

That’s why this government is taking a very different approach from the last, and we don’t accept that keeping our country safe, and enabling our country to thrive and grow our economy is a zero sum game.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy was asked on the BBC Radio 4 Today if she was concerned by comments from the Russian ambassador to the UK that the US is “for the first time” listening to Moscow’s point of view over the invasion of Ukraine.

Nandy said she was not, saying “it doesn’t worry me”. She continued:

I think it’s important that we maintain a dialogue with Russia, and I think it’s important that Russia hears what the world believes, and certainly across Europe.

And with recent comments by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, it’s very clear that we believe that Russia has to end this invasion in Ukraine. It’s important that we stick together on this. And I think it would be tempting for me to come on your show and commentate on the latest interventions, but that is never the way that you achieve peace.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel told viewers of Sky News this morning that she could not comment on the “motivation” of Donald Trump in criticising Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but said that Trump was “wrong”.

Ask what she made of the comments, Patel said:

First of all, that’s wrong. President Zelenskyy is not a dictator. Let’s just put some context of this. For three years – the third anniversary of the conflict is on Monday – for three years he has led his nation in terms of this conflict, standing up to Putin, Putin’s aggression, and the appalling conduct that we’ve seen.

[Zelenskyy] is fighting for sovereignty and the freedom of his country. And this is a significant conflict in our neighbourhood, effectively on European soil, and this is the most brutal conflict that we’ve seen in Europe since, clearly, the second world war. So here’s a man that’s fighting for sovereignty, freedom, and actually standing up for the rule of law, and many of the values that we all hold very dearly.

Asked “Why is president Trump saying that, do you think?” Patel replied “We don’t know. And you know, I don’t think I could comment on his motivation.”

Patel said Trump had been making some consistent points about European defence spending, and she anticipated that the presence of the US envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg in Kyiv would “actually help inform the White House going forward, [and] potentially try and inform some of the debates and discussions.”

She continued:

I think I said at the weekend too that there is a lot of chatter, there’s a lot of noise. There are no clear solutions right now.

And I think, you know, I say this not just as a member of the Conservative frontbench, but actually as a British politician, having led the support for Ukraine, this is why we must really be quite strong all over again in our support for greater defence and military spending and capability.

In terms of working with the government, my party had a plan to increase defence spending. We will be very keen to work with the government on that. But the macro point here is to show some firm and strong leadership with our European allies and within Nato to say that, look, war in Europe is not acceptable.

Lisa Nandy has urged for the “heat” to be taken out of public conversations about peace proposals to end the war caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after a day of heated exchanges between US president Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the culture secretary said:

I think we need to take the heat down from what has become a very heated conversation in public over recent days. That’s what the prime minister has been doing, meeting with European leaders, speaking to President Zelenskyy. Next week, he’ll travel to the US to meet with President Trump.

Downing Street said that Keir Starmer spoke to Zelenskyy last night to reassure him that the UK saw him as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader, and not a “dictator”, as Trump had claimed.

Nandy continued, in an apparent reference to the negotiations that led to the Good Friday agreement, by saying:

The truth is that if we want a solution to what is happening in Ukraine –and we absolutely do, because it’s in British interests to do so, and it’s the right thing to do – then we know in our country from the experience of dealing with very difficult matters on our own shores, that the only way that you reach a solution is to bring all parties around the table, to take the heat down, to have cool heads, and to bring people together for a negotiated solution.

Justin Webb repeatedly questioned Nandy on whether the UK government agreed with Trump’s wording or not, but she diplomatically refused to be drawn in to an outright direct criticism while saying she was clear that the UK has a different view to the US president. She said:

We’ve got our own view as the UK. And our view is that the US matters, Ukraine must be involved in negotiations about Ukraine’s own future, and that Europe matters as well.

And we need to make sure with all parties around the table that our alliance doesn’t fracture. We’re absolutely committed to Nato. We have to hold that coalition together. We have got a real threat here in Vladimir Putin. We have got to work together with our allies in order to make sure that we don’t just win the war and win the peace in Ukraine, but we also make sure that we don’t see the like of this happening again.

Webb put it to Nandy that “would it not be reasonable for the prime minister to publicly contradict” Trump on claims Zelenskyy was a “dictator” who had done “a bad job”, and she replied:

The prime minister has made his own view clear. He spoke to president Zelenskyy in the last few days and made clear that he understands, first of all, that he is an elected leader, and we consider him in the United Kingdom to be a legitimate leader.

We do not consider president Zelenskyy to be a dictator. He was elected by the people of Ukraine. And the reason that there haven’t been elections is because of Russian aggression, and that is something that is out with Ukrainian control. We stand with Ukraine, and our belief in that, our support for Ukraine is unshakable.

Keir Starmer has spoken to Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” after Donald Trump claimed Ukraine’s president was a “dictator”

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The prime minister spoke to President Zelenskyy this evening and stressed the need for everyone to work together. The prime minister expressed his support for President Zelenskyy as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader and said that it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during the second world war.

Ukraine had been scheduled to hold elections in 2024, but they were cancelled due to the full-scale Russian invasion of the country launched by Vladimir Putin nearly three years ago in late February 2022.

Other senior political figures have also reacted to the US president’s comments. Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said Zelenskyy was “the democratically elected leader of Ukraine who bravely stood up to Putin’s illegal invasion”. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Trump’s comments “must be where the line is drawn”