defending the indefensible. borisjohnson has said he wants to focus on things that are important to the future of the uk. some have said partygate means he simply can t. the some have said partygate means he simply can t- he simply can t. the two key thins he simply can t. the two key things are he simply can t. the two key things are ukraine he simply can t. the two key things are ukraine and - he simply can t. the two key things are ukraine and the i he simply can t. the two key i things are ukraine and the cost of living crisis, and, again, i am proud of the fact that there is a cross party consensus, that we stand up against putin, that we stand up against putin, that we stand up against putin, that we defend our friends in ukraine, but the prime minister is a distraction, he is a problem. he is in india tonight, and yet all the media are talking about is what is happening to his leadership. borisjohnson will meet the indian prime minister narendra modi later to discuss defen
mrjohnson s currently in india for a meeting with his indian counterpart narendra modi. our political correspondent helen catt has more. boris johnson s visit borisjohnson s visit gujarat to wasn t the first, but another prime ministerial first back home, which dominated the day. the commons agreed that mr johnson should face an enquiry into whether he deliberately misled parliament in what he said about downing street parties. it will start after the police finished their investigation into the parties themselves. mrjohnson spoke to themselves. mrjohnson spoke to the bbc before the motion was carried. i don t want to have any absence of scrutiny, and i mean this humbly and sincerely. if the opposition want to focus on this, and to talk about this a lot more, that is fine, but i think we should wait until the conclusion of the enquiry, but i want to focus on the staff
support offered by nato allies, including a signal they say will be shown when borisjohnson visits this region and the military support presidentjoe biden announced, the fourth technical batch of military support in recent weeks arrived here in ukraine. russia says it has no plans to invade ukraine but we see troops massing along the border and ukraine says it is preparing for the worst while saying it is not certain russia will invade. if they do, what is the balance of forces? we are joined by an associate fellow at the russian erasure programme at chatham house. eurasia. what impact would
from that point of view it is a double edged sword. 0n the one hand russia can exert pressure on ukraine and the west and on the other hand that can be no doubt whatsoever that russia is involved and this party in this conflict rather than as a mediator, the way the kremlin has preferred to present russia for eight years now. preferred to present russia for eight years now. situation watched closel in eight years now. situation watched closely in many eight years now. situation watched closely in many capitals, eight years now. situation watched closely in many capitals, above - eight years now. situation watched closely in many capitals, above all| closely in many capitals, above all here in the ukrainian capital, kyiv. thank you very much forjoining us with your assessment from chatham house. the world will be watching ukraine on this week with the expected visit borisjohnson to this region but also a un security council meeting on monday to focus on russia s moves in this regio
borisjohnson and the uk s chancellor, rishi sunak, have pledged to push ahead with a rise to national insurance a tax rise in april, despite growing conservative backbench pressure to delay or abandon it. in a joint article in the sunday times, they say every penny raised will go towards boosting the national health service and social care. the pledge comes amid pressure on the prime minister over reported parties held at downing street during england s lockdown. i m joined now by our uk political correspondent ione wells. after a lot of speculation, confirmation that tax rates will go ahead. there was some talk over the last couple of weeks the prime minister was starting to feel a bit nervous about this tax rise with a number of cost of living issues going on with energy bills also set to go up in april. he was facing a backlash from some conservative mps with some calling on him to other fees this tax rise orjust scrap it and rethink the whole tax rise completely. as a result, t