"West will not be bullied'

THE West will not be bullied by Vladimir Putin’s threat of all-out war with Nato if Ukraine is given permission to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, David Lammy said.

The Foreign Secretary said talks were continuing with the US and allies about giving Kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit Russian airbases and military sites which are being used to launch attacks on Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy has been part of intensive UK-US diplomatic talks in Kyiv and Washington in the past week which have so far failed to produce a decision.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pressed Western leaders for permission to use the weapons they have supplied to hit sites within Russia.

Russian president Mr Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.