PM dodges MPs to give Kyiv pledge
BORIS Johnson ducked out of an uncomfortable meeting with northern Tory MPs by making a surprise visit to Ukraine.
He ditched his Doncaster date to fly to Kiev to promise a UK-led scheme to train 10,000 soldiers every 120 days.
He told President Zelensky his offer could “change the equation” and vowed “we will be with you until you ultimately prevail”.
On his second visit to Kyiv since the invasion, Johnson gave the President a biogrqphy of the Queen. The cost of the new operation is uncertain. If accepted, it is expected to take place outside Ukraine.
Back in Doncaster, Jake Berry, head of the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs, insisted the PM’s no-show was not a snub.
But the meeting, ahead of Thursday’s by-elecion which the Tories are expected to lose, would have been tricky.
The group has been pressing for the North to set its own taxes in a bid to thwart defeat.