Burnham warns of politics of poison as Trump envoy says Zelensky must compromise

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has warned MPs they must prevent the politics of poison spreading, according to the Mirror, following far-right protests in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend. The Guardian describes the protests as thuggish descents on both port towns.

The statement came as Burnham held fresh talks with Donald Trump's administration on Ukraine, the Independent reports. A Trump envoy visiting Kyiv told reporters that Volodymyr Zelensky must make compromise with Vladimir Putin, according to GB News. The Independent reports the envoys were confronted during the visit with the question: "Don't you find it disgusting?" in reference to the Putin talks.

GB News also reports Burnham is preparing to impose sanctions on Israel, a move that would spark a row with Trump. The Express claims Burnham is not being straight on immigration and describes Labour as weak on the issue. The domestic unrest and the foreign policy manoeuvring are landing in the same week - which makes the warning about poison rather pointed.

The machinery here is telling. A prime minister holds talks with an American administration whose envoy is publicly pressing an ally to concede territory. That same prime minister warns parliament about poison in politics while protests erupt at the ports where asylum policy meets the street. Whether those two threads connect in Burnham's mind or simply collide in the diary is the question. The next fortnight will show whether the sanctions threat is a negotiating position or a commitment - and whether the poison warning was for the protesters or for his own benches.