Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab is stepping in for Boris Johnson at today's Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.
Today, Mr Johnson is visiting Saudi Arabia and its neighbour the United Arab Emirates as he tries to wean the West off Russian energy in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The prime minister, who travelled overnight before starting the trip in the UAE on Wednesday morning, is being joined by investment minister Lord Grimstone. He will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh days after the largest mass execution in the kingdom in modern history.
READ MORE:
Meanwhile in the UK, justice secretary Mr Raab will take PMQs and face questioning from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. It comes after Sir Keir told the government to “up its game” in supporting Ukrainian refugees, calling their approach “too narrow, too slow and too mean”.
The Labour leader told reporters in Huddersfield: “The British public have been incredibly welcoming and generous. They’ve given generously to various schemes to support refugees, a number of thousands of people have said they’ll take a refugee – if only the Government actually matched the ambition of the British public, because their approach has been too narrow, too slow and too mean.
“What I want to see from the government is a realistic package of support for refugees arriving here, who will be traumatised, many of them will have family back in Ukraine that they’re desperately worried about, with all sorts of medical needs, schooling needs and work needs.
“So thank you to the British public for their generosity. ‘Up your game’ is my message to the government in relation for what they’re doing for refugees.”
The government launched its Homes for Ukraine scheme this week which will see Brits 'sponsor' Ukrainian refugees and put them up in their own homes. More than 120,000 individuals and organisations have expressed an interest in taking in Ukrainian refugees
The new scheme aims to match refugees with individuals, charities and other organisations who can provide accommodation for at least six months, enabling Ukrainians without family ties in the UK to enter the country.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir has also accused the prime minister of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator" in his search for a new energy strategy. The PM has insisted that forging closer ties with Saudi Arabia does not mean “we can’t stick to our principles”.
Conservative MPs and human rights watchdogs are among those calling on Mr Johnson to question the nations on their track records, with Saudi Arabia executing 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups on Saturday.
In his first stop in Abu Dhabi, Mr Johnson insisted he has raised the two countries’ poor human rights records “many, many times”, adding: “I’ll raise them all again today.” He pointed towards Saudi Arabia announcing a £1 billion investment in green aviation fuel in Teesside.
“That’s the kind of thing we want to encourage – doesn’t in any way mean we can’t stick to our principles and raise those issues that we all care about,” he told broadcasters.
Mr Johnson pledged that his long-awaited energy strategy will come “next week” and include a “massive jump forward on renewables, more nuclear, using our own hydrocarbons more effectively” and sourcing fuel from outside Russia.
