Politics
Tory MPs bemoan Kemi Badenoch’s near ban on criticising Trump
Tory MPs are complaining about Kemi Badenoch‘s ‘controlling’ approach and her effective ban on criticising the Trump team.
Insiders said the party leader, pictured below, did not want her ministers doing too much press. ‘We feel we have to walk on eggshells,’ one MP told The Mail on Sunday, describing Mrs Badenoch’s office as ‘controlling’.
For her front bench, certain topics have been off limits – in particular, criticism for President Trump and his top team. ‘Kemi thinks she’s friends with (Vice-President) Vance and can influence the Maga crowd,’ one MP said. ‘It is delusional.’
Even backbench Tory MPs have refused to comment on stories for fear of being reprimanded amid being told not to do too much press.
Tory MPs are complaining about Kemi Badenoch’s (pictured) ‘controlling’ approach and her effective ban on criticising the Trump team
President Donald Trump has caused much controversy since he returned to the White House earlier this year
Last week MPs who privately rallied against Mr Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff’s (pictured) comments on Ukraine giving up territory said they did not go public because they knew the leader’s office would not approve
Another MP said: ‘I feel more worried about getting told off by my party than offending the US. Russia is getting a free pass. I don’t know why we’re not calling that out.’
Only senior MPs such as former foreign secretaryJames Cleverly, who writes in today’s The Mail on Sunday, feel they can criticise the Trump administration. Last week MPs who privately rallied against Mr Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff’s comments on Ukraine giving up territory said they did not go public because they knew the leader’s office would not approve.
Mr Witkoff was accused of ‘regurgitating Kremlin propaganda’ in an interview on the matter. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel declined to comment. Sources close to Ms Patel said they kept quiet because it is ‘not diplomatically helpful’.
A spokesman for Mrs Badenoch said: ‘Kemi has said foreign policy must act in Britain’s national interest. If our domestic industries are going to avoid punishing tariffs then we must act responsibly in our approach to the US.’
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) declined to comment. Sources close to Ms Patel said they kept quiet because it is ‘not diplomatically helpful’
If we’re at odds with America, China will be licking its lips
Analysis by James Cleverly
When I went to China in 2023 as Foreign Secretary, I had a list of contentious issues to discuss, from Taiwan to Beijing’s cyber activity and sanctions against British MPs. Foreign Minister Wang Yi calmly defended his government and then moved on to a charm offensive, talking about areas of potential UK-China co-operation.
James Cleverly served as Foreign Secretary for the Conservative Government from 2022 until 2023
But two years on and the reality is President Trump risks delivering China’s aims by disrupting America’s relationship with its long-term friends.
The post-war networks built by Trump’s predecessors are being quickly eroded. Take the hollowing out of America’s main aid agency USAid, set up by JFK at the height of the Cold War to push back against Soviet influence. It is now Beijing rather than Moscow buying influence.
And, of course, there is a troubling question mark over the Trump administration’s support for Nato.Defence pacts rely on predictability, and our partners in the Pacific will not be encouraged by America’s behaviour to its European allies. The Marshall Plan pumped billions into post-war Europe to build Western capitalist economies, rather than Communist states linked through coercion.
If America makes trade more expensive, China will be ready to pick up any displaced demand. I have no doubt President Xi is delighted with America’s public spats. It is, after all, his geopolitical ambition to ostracise the US – but it shouldn’t also be Trump’s.
His point was the UK should come out from the ‘US’s shadow’ and not be dictated to by Washington – to drive a wedge between the UK and US, and to break what China sees as American hegemony.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the constitution of the Nigerian side of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as part of steps to deepen collaboration in tackling security challenges in the country.
The composition of the Joint Working Group was part of the agreement reached during the recent trip to Washington, DC, by a high-level Nigerian delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Ribadu is to lead the Nigerian side of the Joint Working Group, supported by a multi-stakeholder team comprising senior officials from relevant government establishments.
Members of the Joint Working Group include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Bernard M. Doro, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Mohammed Mohammed and the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Kayode Egbetokun.
Ms Idayat Hassan of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Mr Paul Alabi of the Embassy of Nigeria in the US will serve as the secretariat.
President Tinubu has urged members of the Joint Working Group to work assiduously with their US counterparts to ensure smooth operationalisation of all agreements across sectors.
Politics
AU, ECOWAS, and WAEF Condemn Guinea-Bissau Military Takeover, Demand Restoration of Democratic Order
Election-observation missions from the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) have jointly condemned the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau, calling it a direct assault on the country’s democratic process.
In a strongly worded statement, the observer groups denounced the suspension of the presidential and legislative elections, which had been conducted peacefully on 23 November. They praised the citizens of Guinea-Bissau for their orderly participation and commended electoral officials and security personnel for maintaining professionalism throughout the vote.
The missions described the military intervention as a “blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process,” noting that the takeover occurred while the nation awaited the official announcement of election results. With both leading presidential candidates having pledged to respect the final outcome, observers said the coup threatened to erode confidence in the country’s democratic institutions.
The joint statement also expressed deep concern over the detention of government and electoral officials by the military, urging their immediate release and the swift restoration of constitutional rule. The observers warned that halting the electoral process could reverse years of regional efforts to strengthen political stability and democratic norms in Guinea-Bissau.
Regional and international bodies are now intensifying calls for the reinstatement of civilian authority and the continuation of the electoral process, emphasising the need to safeguard the will of the people at a critical moment in the country’s political trajectory.
Politics
Nnamdi Kanu is in the prison, we should not get angry and it is not issue to use knives, gun or fighting ourselves in order to solve it- Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, has urged the South-East people to use dialogue and peaceful means to address the recent imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu
She added that the people of the South-East should emulate other zones and learn to solve their challenges “through dialogue and peaceful ways.”
Bianca Ojukwu made the remarks at the 14th edition of the Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Day Celebration held at the Ojukwu Memorial Library, Owerri, Imo State, on Wednesday
She noted that although the court of first instance had sentenced Kanu to imprisonment, “all hope are not lost,” adding that through dialogue and peaceful methods, Nnamdi Kanu could be released from the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
The Ojukwu’s annual memorial day was instituted by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, the founder of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASOB
The event is usually attended by Igbo people from the five South-East states and beyond.
During her address, Mrs. Ojukwu called for a minute of silence for the late BBC journalist, Mr. Frederick Forsyth, “who resigned her job to cover all things that happened during the 1967 to 1970 Biafra and Nigeria civil war.”
She said, “Nnamdi Kanu is in the prison, we should not get angry and it is not issue to use knives, gun or fighting ourselves in order to solve it”
“This coming Christmas, all of us should endeavour to meet with our National Assembly members and our governors, ask them the way forward to ensure that Kanu is freed from the prison”
“Also, all of us should come together, plan ourselves on how to use peaceful means to settle this matter, we should plan how to meet with President Bola Tinubu and amicably resolve this matter.”
BREAKING! Inmates Declare Nnamdi Kanu ‘President’ Inside Sokoto Prisons
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