{"id":9477,"date":"2026-01-05T11:01:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=9477"},"modified":"2026-01-05T11:01:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:01:25","slug":"minister-rejects-claims-government-refusing-to-call-maduro-extradition-illegal-to-placate-trump-uk-politics-live-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=9477","title":{"rendered":"Minister rejects claims government refusing to call Maduro extradition illegal to placate Trump \u2013 UK politics live | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Minister rejects claims government refusing to call Maduro extradition illegal to avoid upsetting Trump<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n

Good morning. Before Christmas, Keir Starmer<\/strong> was planning to use the first week back after the holiday recess to highlight what the government is doing to bring down the cost of living. He set out this case yesterday in an article in the Sunday Times<\/a>, where he referenced measures including the budget plan to cut energy bills by \u00a3150 on average<\/a>. Unfortunately, Starmer\u2019s cost of living PR blitz has been blown out of the news agenda by Donald Trump, and his entirely different different approach to the problem of ensuring his voters get access to cheap energy.<\/p>\n

No one in mainstream UK politics seems to be very keen on adopting the Trump approach \u2013 which is probably good news for Norway.<\/p>\n

But there is an intense debate under way about what the UK government should be willing to say about Trump\u2019s decision to abduct Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, the Venezuelan leader, and replace him with someone expected to be more compliant with US demands, particularly in relation to the country\u2019s oil industry.<\/p>\n

Keir Starmer<\/strong> has declined to criticise the American intervention<\/a>, and the government has dodged questions about whether or not it viewed what happened as legal. Last night all EU states apart from Hungary<\/strong> issued a joint statement <\/a>which, while not overtly critical, did stress the value of international law, and by implication accuse Trump of ignoring it. It said:<\/p>\n

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<\/svg>The European Union calls for calm and restraint by all actors, to avoid escalation and to ensure a peaceful solution to the crisis.<\/p>\n

The EU recalls that, under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN charter must be upheld. Members of the United Nations security council have a particular responsibility to uphold those principles, as a pillar of the international security architecture.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mike Tapp<\/strong>, the migration minister, was doing an interview round this morning and, on the Today programme, when asked if Starmer was refusing to say the Maduro extradition broke international law because he was afraid of upsetting Trump, Tapp replied:<\/p>\n

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<\/svg>Absolutely not. The British government is, and will, be in conversations with the Americans. And it\u2019s for the Americans to lay out the legal basis for the action that they\u2019ve taken. And we\u2019re also talking with close allies looking at the legal aspect of this.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But last night, in an interviews on the BBC\u2019s Westminster Hour, Emily Thornberry<\/strong>, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee (and a former shadow attorney general), said she was very concerned about the way Trump seems to think, like Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin and China\u2019s Xi Jinping, that he could do what he wanted in his sphere of influence.<\/p>\n

Asked about Starmer declining to say that Trump was in breach of international law, Thornberry said, because the PM was in government, he had to weigh up \u201ca number of considerations\u201d. But she was in a different position because she was not a minister, she said. She went on:<\/p>\n

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<\/svg>In the end there is no getting away from it. This is not a legal action.<\/p>\n

[Starmer] may well want to hear what the justification is from the American government. I can get in front of that and say I literally cannot think of anything that could be a proper justification.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here is the agenda for the day.<\/p>\n

10am:<\/em> John Swinney, the Scottish first minister and SNP leader, gives a speech in Glasgow. The Scottish Labour<\/a> leader, Anas Sarwar, and Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, are also giving speeches, at 10.30am and 1pm respectively. All the leaders are looking ahead to the Holyrood elections in May.<\/p>\n

Morning:<\/em> Keir Starmer<\/a> is on a visit in Berkshire where he is due to speak to the media.<\/p>\n

11.30am:<\/em> Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.<\/p>\n

2.30pm:<\/em> Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.<\/p>\n

After 3.30pm: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is expected to give a statement to MPs about Venezuela<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can\u2019t read all the messages BTL, but if you put \u201cAndrew\u201d in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.<\/p>\n

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X<\/a>, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.<\/p>\n

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can\u2019t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.<\/p>\n