\n<\/p>\n
Ukraine is fighting for the same values as the allies did in the second world war, Keir Starmer<\/strong> has said before a summit in Alaska<\/strong> between US president Donald Trump<\/strong> and Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Addressing a reception in Downing Street, including veterans, to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day<\/strong>, which marked the allies\u2019 defeat of Japan, the prime minister said:<\/p>\n I sat on this terrace this very morning with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, who is fighting for the same values as we were fighting for. And so when we say never forget, we must pass on the stories of those who have gone before us.<\/p>\n It came as Trump suggested European leaders could be invited to a second meeting if the summit is successful. Trump will meet Putin on Friday at the summit which could see the drawing up of peace terms for Ukraine.<\/p>\n Trump and Starmer have spoken optimistically about a potential ceasefire, including at a virtual meeting of Ukrainian allies on Wednesday.<\/p>\n <\/span>Keir Starmer speaks to second world war veteran Stanley Ellis as he hosts a VJ Day commemorative reception in the Downing Street garden in London on Thursday.<\/span> Photograph: Alberto Pezzali\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Leaders of the European-led \u2018coalition of the willing\u2019 could then join talks between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy to end the war. The PA news agency understands that Starmer will attend a meeting if he is invited.<\/p>\n Also today, defence secretary John<\/strong> Healey<\/strong> is on morning media round for the government, while shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge<\/strong> is doing the same for the Conservatives. I\u2019ll bring you any interesting lines from them in a moment.<\/p>\n But first, in other developments:<\/p>\n Share<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Sally Weale<\/span><\/p>\n One of the messages the education secretary was keen to get across during her media round on A-level results<\/strong> was the government\u2019s commitment to tackling the \u201cyawning inequalities\u201d in educational attainment in England<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Bridget Phillipson<\/strong>, a Sunderland<\/strong> MP who grew up in the north-east, is all too well aware of educational disadvantage and how some regions are worse affected than others. In the run-up to results day, she has made a point of drawing attention to poor exam outcomes for students from white working-class backgrounds.<\/p>\n She says the government\u2019s \u201cplan for change\u201d, which includes reformed early years and revitalised family services, alongside wider efforts to tackle disadvantage such as expanding free school meals and free breakfast clubs, will help address inequalities. But is it enough to bring about real change?<\/p>\n Regional disparities in education are nothing new, but what has concerned experts is that this year\u2019s results reveal that the gap between the strongest and weakest performing areas in England has grown even wider.<\/p>\n You can read more of this analysis from the Guardian\u2019s education correspondent, Sally Weale, here:<\/em><\/p>\n ShareRichard Adams<\/span><\/p>\n Ministers have vowed to tackle England\u2019s \u201centrenched\u201d educational gaps that are leaving some regions and groups trailing far behind their peers and closing off options such as university for many of their school leavers.<\/p>\n A-level results<\/strong> published on Thursday showed an improving national picture, with a higher proportion of young people gaining top grades. But the improvements faded outside London, the south-east and big cities.<\/p>\n While one in three entries from 18-year-olds in London gained A* or A grades, fewer than one in four did so in the north-east of England<\/strong>, where results remain below pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.<\/p>\n Graph showing regional gap<\/p>\n London<\/strong>\u2019s advantage means that the university application rate for its students remains considerably above all other English regions, even as record numbers of school leavers accepted offers to begin higher education courses this autumn.<\/p>\n The Department for Education<\/strong> said that the results \u201chave exposed inequalities which continue to exist in the education system\u201d, which it aims to tackle in a schools white paper later this year.<\/p>\n Bridget Phillipson<\/strong>, the education secretary, said:<\/p>\n Every single young person collecting their results should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams \u2013 whether that starts with further study, university, an apprenticeship or the world of work \u2013 but too often, opportunities depend on background rather than talent.<\/p>\n The entrenched divide in outcomes seen over the last few years and the lack of progress for children from white working-class backgrounds is particularly concerning.<\/p>\n Carl Cullinane<\/strong>, director of research at the Sutton Trust<\/strong>, which campaigns to improve social mobility through education, said:<\/p>\n If the government is going to break down barriers to opportunity, the growth in regional inequalities must be reversed.<\/p>\n It\u2019s positive that increasing numbers of young people from the most deprived areas are getting into university. This is important, because gaining a university degree remains the surest route to social mobility. However, today\u2019s figures show the gap between the most and least deprived areas remains wide, and worse than before the pandemic in 2019.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.31 EDT<\/p>\n Diane Taylor<\/span><\/p>\n Asylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour\u2019s \u201cone in, one out\u201d deal<\/strong> have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries.<\/p>\n The prime minister, Keir Starmer<\/strong>, has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel.<\/p>\n Since the first group of small boat arrivals were detained just over a week ago on 6 August, 2,363 people have crossed the Channel. More than 50,000 have crossed since Labour came into power.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so happy to survive the journey across the Channel and to reach land in the UK. Then the Home Office locked me up. I\u2019m still in a state of shock,\u201d said one man from Eritrea, speaking to the Guardian by phone from a detention centre.<\/p>\n We did not understand what was happening to us when the Home Office moved us from Manston [the former military base in Kent] where we were processed, straight to this place which is like a jail.<\/p>\n When we asked why they were bringing some who arrived on the same boat as me here but letting others go free, they did not answer us. They just said it was because we crossed the Channel illegally.<\/p>\n The man said that neither he nor anyone he knew in northern France knew anything about the \u201cone in, one out\u201d deal and was not sure it would prevent people from continuing to try to cross the Channel.<\/p>\n I am very frightened here. There are people who have committed crimes in the UK locked up with us. We have done nothing wrong apart from trying to find a safe place.<\/p>\n He claimed to have been trafficked and tortured when he passed through Libya on his journey from Eritrea. \u201cI believe if I am sent back to France and the smugglers find me they will kill me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.30 EDT<\/p>\n The Green party<\/strong> have won the Grangetown<\/strong> Cardiff council<\/strong> byelection<\/strong>, gaining a seat from Labour. Marking the victory on X, the party congratulated Matt Youde<\/strong> of the Cardiff Green party on being elected in the Grangetown ward. He received 24% of the vote, beating Labour\u2019s Khuram Chowdhry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Here are the results from the byelection:<\/p>\n Green party (Matt Youde) \u2013 24%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Welsh Labour (Khuram Chowdhry) \u2013 22.7%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Plaid Cymru (Neil Roberts) \u2013 18.7%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Reform UK (Joseph Martin) \u2013 14.5%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Propel (Vincent Yewlett) \u2013 9.6%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Independent (Ahmed Samater) \u2013 4.6%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Welsh Conservative party (James Hamblin) \u2013 4.1%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Welsh Liberal Democrats (Irfan Latif) \u2013 1.8%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The byelection, triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Sara Robinson<\/strong>, had a turnout of 26.7%.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.47 EDT<\/p>\n John Healey<\/strong> said the VJ Day<\/strong> anniversary was a \u201cspecial moment of pride\u201d and \u201cone of the final anniversaries\u201d in which people will be able to hear the stories of veterans, report<\/p>\n The defence secretary told Sky News:<\/p>\n We made big, big play and had big celebrations to mark 80 years of Victory in Europe Day three months ago.<\/p>\n But for many, the war continued, and this is a chance to honour those who served, many, who sacrificed their lives, British and Commonwealth soldiers, in a battle that wasn\u2019t just a battle against an enemy, but a battle against the jungle and tropical diseases and great privation and hardship in prisoner of war camps as well.<\/p>\n And for many who did come home, they regarded themselves as the forgotten army, and we owe them that duty today to remember their service and remember all they gave to bring peace finally, after the second world war.<\/p>\n And I have to tell you, this is a moment of special pride for me as defence secretary, to be alongside around 30 of those VJ veterans today \u2013 teenagers when they went out to fight, now over 100 years old, and this will be one of the final anniversaries in which we\u2019ll be able to mark their service and hear their stories.<\/p>\n He also added that VJ Day offers lessons that can be used in the diplomatic response to the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n Asked what lessons can be applied in the present day as Donald Trump<\/strong> meets Vladimir Putin<\/strong> for a high-stakes summit in Alaska<\/strong>, the defence secretary told BBC Breakfast:<\/p>\n The first lesson is that military and fighting solves nothing in the end, and that the end to war must come through talking, must come from diplomacy.<\/p>\n And so today in Alaska is what I hope, we all hope to see, a first step towards serious negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Diane Taylor<\/span><\/p>\n The theologian who accused Robert Jenrick<\/strong> of xenophobia on the BBC has invited the shadow justice minister to work with him to ease tensions over migration rather than \u201cramping up anti-immigrant sentiment\u201d.<\/p>\n Dr Krish Kandiah<\/strong>\u2019s comments on Radio 4\u2019s Thought for the Day<\/strong>, raising concerns about Jenrick\u2019s remarks about the safety of his daughters because of small boat arrivals, caused a row after a complaint from the shadow justice secretary, with the item being retrospectively edited by the BBC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/span>Krish Kandiah, the founder of Sanctuary Foundation, has invited Robert Jenrick to work with him to ease tensions over migration rather than \u201cramping up anti-immigrant sentiment\u201d.<\/span> Photograph: Anna Gordon\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Kandiah expressed concern about the current atmosphere relating to migration and said he was extending an olive branch to Jenrick in the hope the two men could work together on the issue.<\/p>\n The initial remarks by Kandiah, who heads the Sanctuary Foundation<\/strong> refugee charity, prompted an angry response from Jenrick. The BBC said it had removed \u201csome of the language used\u201d by Kandiah from a version of Thought for the Day posted online, saying it was not appropriate for the faith-based radio segment.<\/p>\n In his statement, Kandiah said:<\/p>\n Mr Jenrick, I want your daughters and mine to be able to walk down the road safely and without fear. I worked with you when you were housing minister and the UK welcomed over 200,000 people from Hong Kong.<\/p>\n I was grateful for your support and compassion during that time. I would love to find a way we could work together to de-escalate the fear and anger many are feeling in our country. I believe we need to focus on the real challenges that are making people worried \u2013 housing, jobs and the cost of living \u2013 rather than ramping up anti-immigrant sentiment.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Matthew Weaver<\/span><\/p>\n Nigel Farage<\/strong> has called for the right to nominate Reform UK supporters to the House of Lords<\/strong>, claiming this would address a \u201cdemocratic disparity\u201d.<\/p>\n The demand was dismissed by the defence secretary, John Healey<\/strong>, who said parliament would not benefit from \u201cmore Putin apologists\u201d.<\/p>\n In a letter to Keir Starmer, the Reform leader said it was unfair that other smaller parties, including the Greens, had peers in the upper chamber but his party did not, despite attracting more votes in the general election last year.<\/p>\n In what Farage described as a \u201cmodest request\u201d, he said it was time that Reform was represented in the House of Lords. He wrote:<\/p>\n Reform UK wishes to appoint life peers to the upper house at the earliest possible opportunity.<\/p>\n Political appointments to the Lords are made at the discretion of the prime minister, who is under no constitutional obligation to elevate opposition figures to the Lords. But under political convention, No 10<\/strong> invites opposition leaders to nominate candidates for peerages.<\/p>\n Downing Street<\/strong> has yet to respond to Farage\u2019s demand, but speaking on LBC, Healey said Farage wanted to fill the Lords with \u201chis cronies\u201d. He also pointed out that Farage had previously called for the abolition of the Lords.<\/p>\n Healey said:<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure that parliament\u2019s going to benefit from more Putin apologists like Nigel Farage, to be honest.<\/p>\n Asked whether that accusation was \u201ca bit strong\u201d, Healey replied:<\/p>\n Look at what he\u2019s said about Russia, look at what he\u2019s said about Putin in the past.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.56 EDT<\/p>\n John Healey<\/strong> said suggestions that Russian occupation in parts of Ukraine and a minerals deal featuring in any truce were \u201call hypotheticals\u201d.<\/p>\n Asked whether the UK would back those ideas, the defence secretary told Sky News:<\/p>\n I think those are all hypotheticals. This is, as President Trump said, a first meeting, there\u2019s an important principle, once serious negotiations start, that there can be no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.<\/p>\n So his declaration of bringing President Zelensky into the discussions is important, just as the aim to secure an unconditional ceasefire, to allow the negotiations to take place, is an important part of what I hope we will start to see as a result of the discussions today.<\/p>\n But this, in the end, is a question and a pressure on Putin. Will he do what he says? Is he ready, as he says, for peace, and will he step back from the war that he\u2019s been waging on Ukraine now for three-and-a-half years without succeeding in securing any of his strategic objectives, and having lost over a million Russian casualties during that time.<\/p>\n This is a huge human cost, both to Russia, but especially to Ukraine.<\/p>\n <\/span>John Healey said suggestions that Russian occupation in parts of Ukraine and a minerals deal featuring in any truce were \u2018all hypotheticals\u2019. <\/span> Photograph: Robbie Stephenson\/PAShare<\/p>\n John Healey<\/strong> said the talks between Donald Trump<\/strong> and Vladimir Putin<\/strong> were \u201cfirst steps\u201d towards a potential peace which could lead to \u201cserious negotiations\u201d which involve Ukraine in the future.<\/p>\n Asked whether Friday\u2019s meeting between the two leaders in Alaska<\/strong> \u2013 and a possible joint press conference \u2013 was simply a \u201creward\u201d for Putin, the defence secretary told Times Radio:<\/p>\n It\u2019s a recognition that you can only end fighting by talking. And to have talking and serious negotiation, it requires someone to broker those talks.<\/p>\n President Trump is playing that role in a way that only President Trump can, and it\u2019s why we and other European leaders and Ukraine have been willing to give President Trump our full support in trying to take these first steps.<\/p>\n Asked whether the US president\u2019s approach to Russia meant the UK needed to change its approach to Russia, he said:<\/p>\n Well, I think, well, first of all, we need to see what happens in the discussions today and whether they lead to serious negotiations that will properly involve Ukraine in the future.<\/p>\n But our first priority, is to continue to stand with Ukraine, as we have since the outset of this full scale war, to step up our support for the diplomatic pressure and the economic pressure on Putin, but also to keep a focus on the frontline while all eyes are on Alaska, because we can\u2019t jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war.<\/p>\n The \u201cpressure and the focus\u201d must be on Putin as the talks get under way, he said.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n The defence secretary dismissed suggestions that the UK\u2019s approach to the Ukraine war was to \u201cwatch and wait\u201d as US president Donald Trump<\/strong> holds talks with Vladimir Putin<\/strong> over a potential deal.<\/p>\n Asked whether Britain\u2019s role was to \u201cwatch and wait\u201d, John Healey<\/strong> told BBC Breakfast:<\/p>\n No, the UK\u2019s role is to stand with Ukraine on the battlefield and in the negotiations, and prepare as we have been, leading 30 other nations with military planning for a ceasefire and a secure peace through what we call the coalition of the willing.<\/p>\n Our role is to lead the charge as we have been on more intensive diplomacy, to lead the charge on military aid to Ukraine so that we don\u2019t jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the current war, and being ready also to step up economic pressure on Putin if he\u2019s not willing to take the talks seriously.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Parliament will not benefit from \u201cmore Putin apologists\u201d, a cabinet minister said, as he poured cold water on Nigel Farage<\/strong>\u2019s call for the prime minister to allow him to appoint peers to the Lords.<\/p>\n Farage has previously pushed for reform of the upper chamber, saying it is too large and needs to be made more democratic.<\/p>\n According to the PA news agency, when asked about the Reform UK leader\u2019s demands, defence secretary John Healey<\/strong> told LBC \u201cthe same Nigel Farage that called for the abolition of the House of Lords\u201d wanted to fill it with \u201chis cronies\u201d.<\/p>\n He then added:<\/p>\n But look, I\u2019m not sure that parliament\u2019s going to benefit from more Putin apologists like Nigel Farage, to be honest.<\/p>\n Asked whether that accusation was \u201ca bit strong\u201d, Healey replied:<\/p>\n Look at what he\u2019s said about Russia, look at what he\u2019s said about Putin in the past. Look [at] what he said in the middle of the general election campaign.<\/p>\n At this point, when maximum pressure needs to be put on Putin to support Ukraine in negotiations, when the maximum condemnation of Putin is required from someone who is sitting down with Trump in Alaska but turning up the attacks on Ukraine, it needs all voices.<\/p>\n And I have to say, the voice of Reform is conspicuously absent in any of our discussions and any of our defence debates about Ukraine and about Russia. And I\u2019d really welcome Nigel Farage weighing in alongside us and the other parties in the House of Commons to condemn Putin and to work, as we\u2019re trying to do as well, to reinforce the prospects of peace.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.56 EDT<\/p>\n Ukraine is fighting for the same values as the allies did in the second world war, Keir Starmer<\/strong> has said before a summit in Alaska<\/strong> between US president Donald Trump<\/strong> and Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Addressing a reception in Downing Street, including veterans, to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day<\/strong>, which marked the allies\u2019 defeat of Japan, the prime minister said:<\/p>\n I sat on this terrace this very morning with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, who is fighting for the same values as we were fighting for. And so when we say never forget, we must pass on the stories of those who have gone before us.<\/p>\n It came as Trump suggested European leaders could be invited to a second meeting if the summit is successful. Trump will meet Putin on Friday at the summit which could see the drawing up of peace terms for Ukraine.<\/p>\n Trump and Starmer have spoken optimistically about a potential ceasefire, including at a virtual meeting of Ukrainian allies on Wednesday.<\/p>\n <\/span>Keir Starmer speaks to second world war veteran Stanley Ellis as he hosts a VJ Day commemorative reception in the Downing Street garden in London on Thursday.<\/span> Photograph: Alberto Pezzali\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Leaders of the European-led \u2018coalition of the willing\u2019 could then join talks between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy to end the war. The PA news agency understands that Starmer will attend a meeting if he is invited.<\/p>\n Also today, defence secretary John<\/strong> Healey<\/strong> is on morning media round for the government, while shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge<\/strong> is doing the same for the Conservatives. I\u2019ll bring you any interesting lines from them in a moment.<\/p>\n But first, in other developments:<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ukraine cause akin to second world war allies, Starmer says before Trump-Putin Alaska talks Ukraine is fighting for the same values as the allies did in the second world war, Keir Starmer has said before a summit in Alaska between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Addressing a reception in Downing Street,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[4659,7865,1346,132,124,1347,674,2123,261,550],"class_list":{"0":"post-15918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-allies","9":"tag-fighting","10":"tag-keir","11":"tag-live","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-starmer","14":"tag-ukraine","15":"tag-values","16":"tag-war","17":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Theologian in Jenrick xenophobia row says pair \u2018could work together\u2019<\/h2>\n
Farage urges Starmer to appoint Reform peers to House of Lords<\/h2>\n
Defence secretary says Trump-Putin talks are ‘first steps’ that could lead to ‘serious negotiations’<\/h2>\n
House of Lords does not need ‘Putin apologists like Farage’, defence secretary says<\/h2>\n
Ukraine cause akin to second world war allies, Starmer says before Trump-Putin Alaska talks<\/h2>\n