Transport Secretary Grant Shapps posted a message on Twitter saying the Elizabeth line will open “thanks to £9bn of government support”.

It comes after Mr Shapps earlier today accused Labor Mayor of London Sadiq Khan of breaking pre-election rules when the new line was announced to open.

Mr Shapps said: ‘This ad is a breathtaking act of political cynicism on the part of the Mayor, breaking election rules on such ads in a bid to garner votes on the eve of local elections in London.

“I therefore immediately refer this violation to the Electoral Commission for investigation.

“Londonians reading this unscrupulous headline might like to know that the government has poured billions into Crossrail to solve backlogs under the mayor’s watch, while propping up a transport system financially hobbled by its chronic incompetence.”

But just 30 minutes after issuing his statement, Mr Shapps tweeted:

The UK would always help Finland if it was attacked by Russia, whether or not the country was a member of NATO, Ben Wallace said.

Visiting Finland to oversee a military exercise, the Defense Secretary stressed that alliances between European countries “make us safer”.

Finland and Sweden are expected to make offers to join NATO after public opinion in both countries swung towards joining the military alliance since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Mr Wallace told reporters it was ‘completely up to Finland’s freedom to choose’ whether it wished to join NATO, and added that he was not going to ‘pressure or direct’ what she should do.

He said, “Do I think if Finland didn’t join NATO, Britain wouldn’t come to help? No. Britain will always be here in the Nordics, to be part of you, to help you, to support you.

“It is inconceivable that Britain would not come to the aid of Finland or Sweden, if ever attacked, without a grand formal agreement. We are European countries which share the same values, which have a long and deep history.

“A significant number of the British population seem to be descended from the Vikings anyway, so we have that cultural connection.

“I can’t imagine a time when we wouldn’t have come to support Finland and Sweden, no matter where they were with the NATO debate or where they were with the agreements.”

He later said, “We’re not in the business of doing these things to provoke other countries. We are here to respond to a much more aggressive current stance from Russia.

“Finland update, the evolution of public opinion is directly related to the mainly strategic blunders of President Putin and the aggression that we have seen.

“It is time for many parts of Europe to wake up to the fact that Putin is not a friend, he is an aggressor, and he has spent a lot of time and money over the past two decades to undermine our democratic principles, through disinformation, funding extreme political parties, and even through military threats.

Boris Johnson has insisted he will lead the Tories in the next general election as he faces a series of potentially tough local elections.

The Prime Minister told reporters he was “absolutely convinced that we have the right program for the country”.

“I have an important mandate to deliver,” he said.

When asked if he would still be there in the next election, which will be held no later than 2024, Mr Johnson replied: ‘Of course. And I am also very confident that we will succeed in the next election.

If opinion polls are correct, tomorrow’s local elections will see Sinn Fein become the largest group in the Northern Ireland Assembly with 90 seats, giving the nationalist party the premiership for the first time. time :

The press watchdog has dismissed all complaints about a story claiming Angela Rayner crossed and uncrossed her legs in the Commons in a bid to distract Boris Johnson.

The Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) received more than 6,000 complaints.

Clinging to the keys of Downing Street is not the only political challenge facing the Prime Minister, writes John Curtice.

Read his full article here:

Britain’s support for Ukraine would become even “stronger” if Boris Johnson were to be replaced as prime minister, a senior Tory official has claimed.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defense Committee, spoke to BBC Politics earlier and was asked whether it would be wise to fire Mr Johnson while the war continues in Ukraine.

Mr Ellwood has publicly called on the Prime Minister to resign after he was found guilty of breaking Covid laws.

Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner has said Tory candidates in tomorrow’s local elections are ashamed of being linked to Boris Johnson.

Sir Keir Starmer would not be asked to provide further details of allegations he broke lockdown rules while campaigning on the final day before the election.

The Labor leader has been under pressure since footage emerged of him having a beer with colleagues in April 2021 in Durham while campaigning for the Hartlepool by-election.

Sir Keir said he wanted to focus on the cost of living crisis and not ‘bashing’ the Tories.

Asked if Durham Police had contacted him in recent days, Sir Keir said: “I haven’t had contact with Durham Police and I think people are pretty much fed up calumnies that occur.

“We know an election is coming up, we know what the Tories are up to. What we need to do, I think, is focus on the problem at hand, which is the cost of living.”

When asked what he was doing at 11 p.m. in Durham on the evening in question, and whether he returned to work after eating, he replied: “We were working, we were stopping, we were eating.

“No rule breaking. No partying. And I think that’s enough for the conservative slanders about it.”