China and Iran will cheer if Ukraine fails, warns Lord Cameron

China and Iran will “cheer” if the West allows Ukraine to fail and Vladimir Putin to succeed, Lord Cameron has warned.

Speaking at a conference in Brussels about the future of the Nato military alliance, the Foreign Secretary said there was the possibility of an “incredibly bright” future where Putin failed in Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky’s country was able to recover its territory.

However, Lord Cameron went on to warn: “There is another future for Nato, for the West, for Britain, and that is one where we allow Ukraine to fail, we allow Putin to succeed, and the celebrations will be held mostly in Moscow and of course in Beijing and in Tehran and in North Korea.

“And that is a very bleak future, not only because I believe other European countries would be at risk but all of the world would look around at America and Britain and the European powers and wonder how willing we were to stand up for our allies, how reliable we were as an ally.

“Even the absolute key to Nato of Article 5, allies in Europe would start looking to each other and wondering how much they could really trust each other when they said they would stand up and stand by and oppose aggression.”

You can join the conversation in the comments section here. 

06:11 PM BST

That’s all for today...

Thank you for joining us on another eventful day in Westminster and beyond.

My colleague Jack Maidment will be back tomorrow to guide you through all the latest.

05:57 PM BST

British aid worker killed by ‘inhumane act’, says family

A British aid worker was killed by an “inhumane act” following an Israeli strike on a convoy, his family said.

John Chapman, 57, who is said to have served in the Royal Marines, died in the bombing of an aid convoy in Gaza on Monday.

His family said in a statement: “We are devastated to have lost John, who was killed in Gaza. He died trying to help people and was subject to an inhumane act. He was an incredible father, husband, son and brother.

“We request we be given space and time to grieve appropriately. He was loved by many and will forever be a hero. He will be missed dearly.”

Steve Bird and Alex Barton have the story here

05:41 PM BST

Tories on course to suffer even worse result than 1997

The Conservative Party is on course to suffer an even worse general election result than in 1997, according to a major new poll which suggested Labour could secure a 154 seat majority.

05:19 PM BST

Lord Cameron: See two per cent defence spending as a floor, not a ceiling

Lord Cameron said Nato faces threats from Beijing among other countries “and Nato has a role to play... in dealing with those threats”.

He added: “What will determine the success or failure of Nato in the future? Now of course there’s some very simple Treasury-like technical answers to that. I think the success will depend on more and more countries reaching two per cent, and more countries seeing two per cent as a floor and not a ceiling and we see such great progress there.

“A large part of the answer will be how capable Nato is of modernising all our Armed Forces and making sure their compatibility... a lot of Nato’s success will depend on when we make Ukraine a member. But I would say the biggest determinant of success and it goes back to what I said right at the start... is does it have a relevance to my life?

“I think we have to win the argument for Nato all over again with a new generation, a generation that can see yes, look at the threat Ukraine has faced from Russia, but I think we need to go back to a more foundational argument. Fundamentally, the greatness of Nato is it allows countries to choose their own future.

“When the Iron Curtain fell, Poland recovered its ability to govern itself effectively. Its economy was three times the size of that of Belarus. Today its economy is 10 times the size of Belarus. There is no reason Ukraine is many times poorer than Poland and it’s this ability that Nato gives countries to choose, to choose to be democracies, to choose to have rights, to choose to become an open trading system and have trade relations with other countries.”

05:15 PM BST

Lord Cameron: There are multiple possible futures for Nato

“There is a future where we support Ukraine, where Putin does not win in Ukraine, where Ukraine recovers its territory and is capable of having a just peace, and that future is an incredibly bright one for Britain, for Europe, for Nato.

“It’s a future where Nato will be strong, everybody will see the strength of its alliance, everyone will recognise that Ukraine should be and will be part of Nato and the capability of Nato will have grown even stronger. And people will see that we in the West are capable of standing up to a threat of this magnitude.

“But there is another future for Nato, for the West, for Britain, and that is one where we allow Ukraine to fail, we allow Putin to succeed, and the celebrations will be held mostly in Moscow and of course in Beijing and in Tehran and in North Korea.

“And that is a very bleak future, not only because I believe other European countries would be at risk but all of the world would look around at America and Britain and the European powers and wonder how willing we were to stand up for our allies, how reliable we were as an ally, and even the absolute key to Nato of Article 5, allies in Europe would start looking to each other and wondering how much they could really trust each other when they said they would stand up and stand by and oppose aggression.

“So I think the biggest for Nato nations is this issue of Ukraine and that is why it is my number one priority as Foreign Secretary... But it is not the only threat, the only issue, that Nato has to face in terms of what is next.”

05:09 PM BST

Cameron: Nato’s success is its simplicity

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, is speaking at a conference about the future role of Nato.

He said he was “very proud” to have chaired a 2014 Nato conference in Cardiff, and noted 20 out of 32 members now met the alliance’s two per cent defence spending target, compared to just three a decade ago.

“The heart of Nato’s success is its incredible simplicity, the simplicity of Article 5. An attack on one is an attack on all is something all people, all participants, can understand. And of course it was combined with that sense of a clear and growing threat, and most of Nato’s life has had a clear threat and we certainly have that today.

“And its success has been based on its continuing expansion. What is next for Nato? It is clear that while Nato is not a participant in the current conflict in Ukraine, the outcome of what happens in Ukraine is in my view absolutely vital to the future of Ukraine and that is one of the reasons why Britain so strongly supports Ukraine’s struggle.”

04:47 PM BST

NHS waiting list could be two million longer than thought

The NHS waiting list could be two million people longer than previously thought, new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggests.

A representative survey of almost 100,000 adults in England found that 21 per cent were waiting for an NHS appointment, test or medical treatment.

It means that around 9.7 million people – more than one in five – are waiting for an appointment when the survey’s results are extrapolated across the country, the ONS said.

Official waiting list data up until the end of January said that 6.3 million people were waiting for 7.6 million appointments because some people are on two or more waiting lists.

Michael Searles, our Health Correspondent, has the story

04:32 PM BST

Liberal Democrats on course for ‘significant parliamentary comeback’

The Liberal Democrats are set for a “significant parliamentary comeback”, according to the new YouGov MRP poll.

Although their national vote share is not set to change significantly since the 2019 general election, with the party predicted to win 12 per cent of the vote, Sir Ed Davey’s party is likely to benefit from a nationwide collapse in Tory fortunes and end up with 49 seats.

The most prominent Conservative casualty of this Liberal Democrat surge would be chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who is currently fractionally behind the Lib Dems in his Godalming and Ash seat.

04:15 PM BST

Reform not on track to win any seats

Reform is not on track to win any seats at the next general election, a new YouGov projection shows despite predicting that Richard Tice’s party will win 12 per cent of the vote.

But Reform is set to gain the second largest share of the vote in 36 constituencies that Labour is set to win, many of which are in the ‘Red Wall’ of seats in the north and Midlands that the Conservatives won for the first time in at least a generation in 2019.

These include Ashfield, the seat currently held by the only Reform MP Lee Anderson. He won it on a Tory ticket in 2019 and went on to become the party’s deputy chairman for just under a year before crossing the floor.

04:03 PM BST

Good afternoon

Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Correspondent, taking over from Jack to guide you through the rest of the day.

03:47 PM BST

Labour and Tories heading in opposite directions, poll suggests

Labour is up while the Tories are down in today’s general election poll published by YouGov.

Labour’s projection of 403 seats nationwide is 18 seats more than the party secured in YouGov’s January projection.

The Conservatives’ 155 seats was down from 169 in the projection at the start of the year.

03:39 PM BST

Major new poll: Labour projected to win more than 400 seats at general election

Labour is projected to win 403 seats at the next general election and secure a majority of more than 150, according to a major new poll published this afternoon by YouGov.

A projection based on a survey of 18,761 people carried out between March 7-27 suggested Labour is on course to win a majority of 154 seats.

Meanwhile, the Tories are seemingly on course to win just 155 seats.

That would be an even worse result for the Conservative Party than it suffered in 1997.

03:34 PM BST

Pothole crisis reaches record high as numbers top 1 million

Britain’s pothole crisis has reached a post-pandemic high after drivers reported 1 million potholes on the nation’s roads last year.

The number of road craters in need of repair reported to councils is at its highest since 2020, according to the insurance comparison site Confused.com.

A million potholes being reported in one year is the equivalent of more than 2,700 being flagged to highway authorities every single day.

You can read the full story here. 

03:18 PM BST

Labour urges Government to publish Israel legal advice

Labour has urged the Government to publish any legal advice it has received on Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law relating to its action in Gaza.

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said if that advice shows “there is a clear risk that UK arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law, it’s time to suspend the sale of those arms” to Israel.

Mr Lammy said: “The law is clear. British arms licences cannot be granted if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

“Labour’s message to the government is equally clear. Publish the legal advice now. If it says there is a clear risk that UK arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law, it’s time to suspend the sale of those arms. If David Cameron has received this advice, he must act on it.”

02:59 PM BST

NHS ‘crisis even worse than it appeared’, says Labour

Andrew Gwynne, a shadow health minister, said the “crisis in the NHS is even worse than it appeared” as he responded to the waiting list data published today by the Office for National Statistics (see the post below at 14.46).

He said: “Pull back the cover and the crisis in the NHS is even worse than it appeared. One in every five people in England are stuck on waiting lists, and they are waiting longer than ever before.”

Mr Gwynne said Rishi Sunak had “broken his pledge to cut waiting lists” and claimed “the longer the Conservatives remain in office, the longer patients wait”.

02:46 PM BST

NHS waiting list could be two million people longer than previously thought

The NHS waiting list could be two million people longer than previously thought, new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has suggested.

A representative survey of almost 100,000 adults in England found that 21 per cent were waiting for an NHS appointment, test or medical treatment.

It means that around 9.7 million – more than one in five people – are waiting for an NHS appointment when the survey’s results are extrapolated across the country, the ONS said.

You can read the full story here. 

02:33 PM BST

Khan claims Government is ‘anti-London’

Sadiq Khan claimed the Government was “anti-London” and a Labour administration led by Sir Keir Starmer would mean a “reset in relations” between City Hall and Downing Street.

Asked by reporters what new powers he would like to see devolved to London if a Labour government were to be elected, Mr Khan told reporters: “The really big thing that a Labour government can give us which Rachel [Reeves] confirmed today is a reset in the relations between the government and us.

“That is important because we have had for too long a Government that appears to be anti-London, that thinks the way to level up our country, to make it more equal, is to make London poorer.

“That is cutting its nose to spite its face. Why? Because we are the only region in the country that has contributed more post-pandemic than before.”

02:16 PM BST

Sir Ed Davey claims Sunak ‘bottled’ calling general election

Sir Ed Davey has accused Rishi Sunak of “bottling” calling a general election as he predicted his party would make gains at the local elections on May 2.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats is on the third day of a tour of the West Country taking in visits to Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

He told activists during a visit to Gloucester today: “Rishi Sunak certainly has bottled it. Liberal Democrats have been speaking, I think, for the people. We want an election now, we want change, we want to get rid of these Conservatives.”

01:53 PM BST

SNP demand immediate recall of Parliament over Israeli airstrike

The SNP has urged the Government to recall Parliament following the Israeli airstrike in Gaza which killed seven aid workers including three UK citizens.

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, has written to Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Lindsay Hoyle demanding an immediate recall.

“This situation demands that the Prime Minister comes to Parliament without further delay to outline the UK Government’s response to the killing of UK citizens by Israel, to enable MPs to scrutinise the UK Government’s response, and so that Parliament can finally debate and vote on ending arms sales to Israel,” he said.

The House of Commons is currently in recess and is not due to return until April 15.

01:47 PM BST

Reeves urges Government to publish legal advice on arms sales to Israel

The Government must urgently publish any advice it has received about exporting arms to Israel, Rachel Reeves has said.

Asked whether there was a case for the UK to halt arms exports, the shadow chancellor told reporters in London today: “We have urged the Government to urgently publish any reports that they have on the abidance with international law.

“The international law is clear that where arms sales are at risk of being used for purposes not consistent with international law, they shouldn’t happen.

“That is why now we are asking the Government to urgently publish the evidence that they have.”

01:44 PM BST

Foreign Secretary: UK will help ‘in any way we can’ after Taiwan earthquake

01:41 PM BST

Pictured: Lord Cameron speaks with Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel in Brussels

01:05 PM BST

Lib Dem leader urges UK to suspend arms sales to Israel

Sir Ed Davey has called on the Government to suspend arms sales to Israel following the deaths of seven aid workers, including three British nationals, in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats said: “The deaths of these British aid workers in Gaza is an absolute disgrace. These brave people were trying to help starving families in Gaza.

“Clearly, the thought that British-made arms could have been used in strikes such as these is completely unacceptable.

“The Government must take swift action to suspend arms exports to Israel. We must redouble our efforts to secure an immediate bilateral ceasefire.”

01:02 PM BST

Pictured: Rachel Reeves and Sadiq Khan visit Francis Crick Institute in London

12:43 PM BST

Israel’s ambassador to the UK: ‘This was a tragic mistake’

Israel’s ambassador to the UK has offered her “deepest condolences” to the families and friends of the three Britons killed in an airstrike in Gaza, which she described as a “tragic mistake”:

In a statement posted on Twitter, Tzipi Hotovely said:

12:39 PM BST

UK has ‘very careful export licensing regime’, says Sunak

Rishi Sunak said he has “been consistently clear” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must protect civilian lives, adding that the UK has a “careful export licensing regime”.

The Prime Minister told The Sun today: “I think we’ve always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to.

“There are a set of rules, regulations and procedures that we’ll always follow, and I have been consistently clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that while of course we defend Israel’s right to defend itself and its people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives and, sadly, too many civilians have already lost their lives.

“Get more aid into Gaza. That’s what we’ve consistently called for and what we want to see actually is an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid in, and crucially the hostages to be released, and that’s what we’ll continue to push for.”

12:37 PM BST

19 Nato members were below 2pc spending target last year

Lord Cameron today urged all Nato members to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence (see the post below at 10.57).

So how many of the alliance’s 32 members are below that target?

The Nato annual report for last year put the number at 19, including Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway and France.

Just 11 members were either at two per cent or above, including the UK, US and Poland.

(Sweden was not on the list because it only joined Nato this year while Iceland was not included because it does not have a military)

12:24 PM BST

UK is ‘through the worst of it’ and ‘things are looking up’, Sunak tells voters

Rishi Sunak said the UK is “through the worst of it” and “things are looking up” as he surprised unsuspecting members of the public with financial advice.

People were invited to speak to a government “financial adviser” online but it was actually the Prime Minister who appeared to answer their questions during a video call.

Mr Sunak told one person: “What you have said is what I hear across the country. We have been through a really tough time but we are through the worst of it and at the start of this year things are looking up so onwards we go.”

Downing Street posted the video on Twitter earlier today:

12:03 PM BST

Reader poll: Should the UK suspend arms exports to Israel?

The UK Government is facing growing calls to suspend arms exports to Israel.

You can have your say on the issue in our reader poll below:

11:44 AM BST

Sadiq Khan has 18 point poll lead over Susan Hall

Sadiq Khan has an 18 point poll lead over Susan Hall in the London mayor race, according to a new survey conducted by Survation.

The survey, conducted between March 21-26, put the Labour incumbent on 44 per cent of the vote and his Tory challenger on 26 per cent.

The London mayoral election is due to take place on May 2.

11:20 AM BST

Investigation into Israeli airstrike must happen ‘very quickly’, says Lord Cameron

Lord Cameron said an investigation into the Israeli airstrike which killed seven aid workers must be conducted “very quickly”.

Speaking in Brussels this morning as he arrived at a Nato summit, the Foreign Secretary said: “I welcome what the Israeli foreign minister said yesterday to me about a full, urgent and transparent inquiry into how this dreadful event was allowed to happen, and we want to see that happen very, very quickly.

“I also welcome the fact he spoke about much more aid getting into Gaza, up to 500 trucks a day. That is essential, we have been promised these things before and it really needs to happen, including longer opening times at the vital crossing points.

“But, of course, the extra aid won’t work unless there is proper deconfliction, unless aid can be taken around Gaza and we avoid the dreadful incidents like we have seen in the last couple of days. That is vital and Britain will be watching very closely to make sure that that happens.”

10:57 AM BST

Lord Cameron urges Nato members to hit 2pc spending target to ‘prepare for US elections’

Lord Cameron has urged all Nato members to meet the commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence as he argued that is the “best way to prepare for the American elections in the autumn”.

Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of Nato members which are not hitting the commitment.

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said this morning as he arrived at a Nato summit in Brussels: “The most important thing we can do to make sure this alliance continues to grow and continues to strengthen is to ensure that we all spend over two per cent of our GDP on defence.

“Many more countries are now doing that but we need every country to do that.

“Frankly that is the best thing we can do to make sure the Nato summit in Washington this summer is a success and it is also the best way to prepare for the American elections in the autumn, whatever their outcome may be.”

The Washington summit referenced by Lord Cameron is due to take place July 9-11, the week before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Mr Trump is expected to be selected as the party’s nominee for president.

10:44 AM BST

Israel has ‘gone too far’, says Labour shadow minister

The US and the UK are now telling Israel it has “gone too far” in its actions in Gaza, a Labour frontbencher said.

Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think what we’ve seen from President Biden, from Keir Starmer, and now from Lord Cameron, our own Foreign Secretary, is that countries that supported Israel’s right to defend itself and to recover its hostages from Hamas terrorists in Gaza, which clearly is their right to have done in the first place, have all said that you’ve gone too far, that we need to bring this war to an end, we need to get around the negotiating table, we need to aid to get to people who desperately need it in Gaza.

“This latest situation, not only has it resulted in the death of aid workers, which is unacceptable, but it’s now making it much harder for aid to be made available to people who are in the most desperate situations.”

10:15 AM BST

Lord Barwell: Israel doing ‘serious damage’ to relationships with allies

Lord Barwell, who was chief of staff in No 10 during Theresa May’s premiership, said the current Israeli government was doing “serious damage” to Israel’s relationships “even with its closest friends”.

He made the comments as he responded to a Downing Street readout of a phone call between Rishi Sunak and Benjamin Netanyahu which took place last night.

The readout was notable for how blunt it was. Normally such calls with other world leaders are described in the blandest and most diplomatic of terms.

Lord Barwell tweeted:

09:44 AM BST

UK should suspend arms exports to Israel, says ex-national security adviser

The UK should suspend arms exports to Israel, a former UK national security adviser has said following the deaths of three British citizens in an Israeli airstrike.

Lord Ricketts told Sky News: “I would like to see at this point the UK decide that they are going to suspend arms export licences to Israel.

“I think there is enough evidence now that Israel is, to put it diplomatically, not paying attention to its international humanitarian law obligations to protect civilians, to protect humanitarian workers and medical workers.

“And I think each time there is another of these horrors, they must be getting closer to the point where the Americans start putting some restrictions on their arms.”

09:27 AM BST

Ex-national security adviser: ‘Abundant evidence’ Israel ‘hasn’t been taking enough care’

Lord Peter Ricketts, a former national security adviser, said there was now “abundant evidence” that Israel was not “taking enough care” when it comes to protecting civilians in Gaza.

He said Israel’s killing of seven aid workers had sparked “global outrage” as he called for an “immediate ceasefire”.

“I think there is abundant evidence now that Israel hasn’t been taking enough care to fulfil its obligations on the safety of civilians and a country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law,” he added.

09:07 AM BST

Private school parents already ‘used to’ fees going up, says Labour in defence of VAT raid

Parents of private school pupils are already “used to” fees going up every year, a Labour frontbencher claimed as he defended the party’s plan to impose VAT on the charges.

Labour has said if it wins the next general election it will add the 20 per cent levy to independent school fees.

There are fears that schools will simply pass the tax onto parents, potentially making private education unaffordable for many and prompting an exodus of thousands of pupils into the state sector.

But Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, claimed parents are “used to having to pay more each year for their private school provision”.

He told TalkTV this morning: “The important point here is that private school fees have gone up year after year after year for many, many years and so parents are used to having to pay more each year for their private school provision and what we have said to private schools is we are giving them advance notice of this so that they can transition to having to pay VAT through parent fees.

“Many of our schools are in a position to be able to pass this on over a number of academic years or to think about spreading the cost as opposed to lumping a whole 20 per cent on parent fees in one go and we would encourage schools to work with a Labour government if we win the election later this year to make sure that this policy is implemented in the best possible way for everybody.”

08:50 AM BST

Make a minister responsible for protecting nation’s symbols, suggests Tory MP

A Tory MP has backed the idea of making a minister responsible for protecting the nation’s symbols amid the latest flag row.

Henry Smith, the chairman of the flags and heraldry all party parliamentary group, said he believed many of the UK’s traditional symbols were under “deliberate attack”.

Responding to the suggestion of a minister being given responsibility for the issue, he told GB News: “It wouldn’t cost any more, it would just fix a point of responsibility in government to make sure that our national symbols are protected.

“So many of our symbols… are now under actual deliberate attack by those who are interested in pursuing the culture wars, trying to cancel what it is to be British, and all of the great things that we have done.

“One of the things I’d reflect on, is that actually the Union Jack is a very trendy popular symbol around the world. You see the Union Jack everywhere, it’s probably one of the most recognisable flags in the world.”

08:29 AM BST

Sadiq Khan to pledge to create 150,000 high-quality jobs by 2028

Sadiq Khan has pledged to create more than 150,000 high-quality jobs by 2028 if he is re-elected as London mayor.

The Labour Mayor will set out a path to a “new era of prosperity” during a visit to King’s Cross later today.

Mr Khan’s London Growth Plan will focus on growing sectors such as artificial intelligence, financial tech, climate tech and life sciences.

Labour said it aims to offer opportunities to young Londoners, particularly those from lower income households, and will be developed in collaboration with councils, businesses and trade unions.

08:25 AM BST

Union flag changes an attempt to make people ‘ashamed’ of being British, claims Farage

Nigel Farage said he was “dead against” making changes to the Union flag as he intervened in the Team GB merchandise row.

The former leader of the Brexit Party claimed changes to the nation’s symbols were “deliberate” and designed to make people feel “ashamed” of being British.

He told GB News: “I have to say I think this is really all quite deliberate, an attempt that goes right through much of civil society, right through much of our education system.

“They want us to basically be ashamed of who we are as people, not proud. I am dead against it.”

The British Olympic Association faced a backlash over the sale of ‘Union Jack’ merchandise in different colour shades.

In a shift from the plain red, white and blue colours most associated with the British Olympic team, designers introduced options with squiggles and dots across colours that incorporate shades of pink and purple.

It came after a similar row in March after changes were made to the St George’s Cross on the new England football kit.