Boris Johnson news – live: ‘Millions left out’ in mini budget, as Shapps admits fuel prices still ‘crazy high’

We are pausing our live coverage for today, come back tomorrow for more politics updates as it happens.

Aled Patchett, head of retail and consumer goods at Lloyds Bank, warned that Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis could pile pressure on the retail sector.

“The coming months are likely to prove disruptive for retailers,” he said, adding that the impact from the cost of living crisis is going to show very quickly.

Mr Patchett explained that rising energy prices “pose a two-fold challenge to retailers” as they could “both push up the day-to-day costs of running their business and hamper consumer spending power” which would in turn limit the amount of disposable income people have to spend on discretionary items.

He said: “Add higher food prices resulting from the conflict in Ukraine, tax increases, the upcoming rise in the minimum wage and continued supply chain disruption to the mix, and it could prove to be a challenging period ahead.”

Thousands of disabled pupils and those with special needs could have their school transport taken away because of the spiralling cost of fuel, council chiefs are warning.

Read the full story by my colleague Jane Dalton here:

Transport secretary Grant Shapps says Ukraine is a “completely innocent country who were invaded” in his announcement that he will hosting a refugee family of three in his home.

“We will help, we will stand by,” the cabinet minister said, adding that Ukrainian refugees are “incredibly grateful to the British people”.

Watch the full clip here:

An audience member on BBC Question Time expressed her “disappointment” in the government for being “out of touch” and knowing “the cost of everything and value of nothing”.

She added: “I sat through the pandemic and watched money being hemorrhaged away, money which we could well do with now.”

Watch the whole clip here:

The cabinet minister told The Times he will soon be hosting a six-year-old boy, his mother and 75-year-old grandmother, alongside their dog, Max.

Mr Shapps said he was able to use a room in house — 20 miles from London — due to his son currently being away at university and said he was in daily contact with the Ukrainian family.

My colleagues Ashley Cowburn and Holly Bancroft have more details here:

As Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine enters its second month, Boris Johnson has used an (extremely) rare interview with BBC Newsnight to suggest Vladimir Putin could be defeated in the Eastern European country.

He said the situation was “miserable” but the Russian president was “solidifying’ Ukraine as a nation - rather than extinguishing it”.

Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the full story:

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has said the chancellor’s mini budget “missed out millions of people facing real hardship”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “The problem is going to get worse and you can’t have children…no parent wants children growing up without beds, without warmth, without hot food. Something has got to be done about this.

“I see it in Fife where I live and I’m involved with a local charity. Parents are reluctant to turn up their heating and that’s why there’s a huge demand for sheets, pillows, duvets, for anything that will provide warmth to their children during these colder nights and this will be worse once it gets to the autumn and that’s why something has got to be done.

“There was a blank page in his budget statement this week and it missed out millions of people who are facing real hardship.”

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has admitted fuel prices at the pumps are still “crazy high”.

Asked about the loss of fuel duty and how that should be compensated, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Over time the Treasury will need to look at the way we pay for our roads.

“I know that the Transport Select Committee looked at [road pricing] and said that eventually, the country will have to move towards systems probably including road charging in order to pay for the infrastructure.

“I think in the end of course we all accept we have to pay for the infrastructure – my first move isn’t necessarily to want to raise taxes in order to do that but I understand of course we need to pay for the infrastructure and that means since there isn’t duty we’ll have to find other ways to do it.

"But for the time being, there is a big advantage in – and particularly with the crazy high fuel prices even after the chancellor’s generosity with the 5p off, we’re still seeing prices of £1.66, £1.70 at the pump during March and we want to see people relieved from the cost of living and going electric is one of the ways that that can start to happen.

“Although I should say that cars at the moment are still a little bit more expensive, but 90 per cent of people buy cars on some sort of finance, so your monthly costs are likely to be the same or lower with an electric.”

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has said the situation facing some of the poorest families because of the rising cost of living is an “emergency”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “This is an emergency. It’s a cost of living crisis and you cannot ignore the needs of people who are having to choose between putting heating up and feeding the meter and feeding their children.

“That is simply not an acceptable situation. I do say a campaign has got to be mounted right across the country to change this.”