Nadhim Zahawi today warned Vladimir Putin "there will be a reckoning" for his invasion of Ukraine as the Education Secretary said he believes there is "no doubt" war crimes have been committed by Russian forces.

       Mr Zahawi said Mr Putin has "no place" in Ukraine and demanded the Russian President halt his "illegal" incursion and withdraw from the country.

       Meanwhile, the Cabinet minister distanced the UK from Joe Biden's apparent call for regime change in Russia as he said it is "up to the Russian people to decide who governs them".

       Mr Biden sparked an international backlash from his own allies after the US President called Mr Putin a "butcher" and insisted the Russian leader "cannot remain in power".

       Mr Zahawi refused to back Mr Biden's remarks, which were subsequently rowed back on by the White House, but said he believed the "Russian people are pretty fed up" with Mr Putin's regime.

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       Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Joe Biden after he appeared to call for regime change in Russia.

       The Labour leader was asked during an interview on LBC Radio how helpful Mr Biden's remarks were and he replied: "Not helpful. To say something, to row back. Big thing to say for obvious reasons. But the Ukraine situation is thoroughly depressing.

       "I remember how I felt when the Berlin Wall came down, it felt like the whole of Europe, freedom, liberation, sovereignty, meant something completely different.

       "And I didn't think in my lifetime we would see Russian tanks going into a European country, soldiers kissing their children goodbye as they stay and defend their cities and their country, or the terrible bombing of civilians, including hospitals and so it is a devastating situation."

       The Education Secretary was asked if he believes Mr Biden is coping adequately with the requirements of being a world leader, following the US President's remarks about regime change in Russia (see the post below at 08.16).

       He told the BBC: “Yes, he is and I think as Antony Blinken (US Secretary of State) said, what Joe Biden was talking about is that Putin mustn’t be empowered to attack the Ukraine, to invade the Ukraine, to occupy the Ukraine.

       “If you look at the coordination between the United States and the United Kingdom on both aid into the Ukraine and military assistance…”

       Told that those are actions while the area of concern is Mr Biden's words, Mr Zahawi said: “Actions speak louder than any words and the US President, his actions and his delivery has been leading the world with our Prime Minister, with our European partners and NATO which is why Putin has so massively, massively under-estimated the resolve of the Ukrainian people and they will fight like lions and of course the support they are getting.

       “It has been a massive miscalculation and the sooner he retreats and exits the Ukraine the better.”

       More from Nadhim Zahawi on Joe Biden saying Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" (see the below post at 08.16).

       The Education Secretary was asked to clarify the UK's position and he agreed with the statement that Britain does not want regime change in Moscow.

       Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: “That is correct. It is up to the Russian people to decide who governs them.

       “I think they are pretty fed up with Putin and his cronies because not only are they seeing innocents being killed in the Ukraine in this illegal war targeting civilian areas, but they have also seen their livelihoods and their incomes disappear.

       “The Russian economy is on its knees, not just the Ruble collapsing but the actual economy has disappeared, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.”

       Universal free provision of lateral flow tests in England will stop on Friday April 1, with the Government yet to set out in detail the groups which will still be able to access the tests without having to pay.

       Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, said this morning that Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, will set out details on Friday.

       The Cabinet minister predicted the UK may have to live with Covid for the next decade.

       He told Sky News: “In some parts of the economy where we need to have further work in terms of testing, he will say more on that.

       “But actually between vaccine and our radar system, the ability to genome sequence, I think we are in a strong place to now continue to live with the virus.

       “We are going to have to live with it, I don’t know for how long, maybe five, six, seven, 10 years.”

       Sir Kevan Collins quit as the Government's Covid catch-up tsar in June last year after he reportedly asked for a package of support for schools worth ￡15billion but ministers brought forward only a fraction of that.

       The Government has now pledged a total of approximately ￡5billion for catch-up.

       Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, today insisted he is “not interested in announcing big numbers” but on “how we’re going to spend it” as he defended the Government's spending plans.

       He told Sky News: “What I’m saying is I’ve got ￡7billion going in to investment in schools, I’ve got ￡5billion on recovery.

       “Let me do this well and I can demonstrate to Kevan Collins and the rest of the country how well we’ve done on catch-up."

       He added: "With respect to Kevan Collins, I’m not interested in announcing big numbers, I’m interested in how we’re going to spend it.”

       Nadhim Zahawi is today launching his new education white paper which sets out his plans for school reform.

       One of the key proposals is to reintroduce a pledge for all schools to become academies by the end of the decade.

       The Government will seek to achieve this by reversing its current ban on councils participating in the academies scheme.

       Councils will be able to set up and run their own academy trusts, which it is hoped will encourage more primary schools to make the transition to academies.

       Mr Zahawi said this morning that his aim is to "complete the journey" to academies which began two decades ago.

       He told Sky News: “It means, I hope, we can complete the journey, which is what my white paper does, of a family of schools, all the evidence suggests that schools that work together in a family of schools that is tightly managed, really well supported by a strong, and I underline strong, high performing multi-academy trust, deliver better outcomes for the children.”

       The Education Secretary has warned Vladimir Putin "there will be a reckoning" for his "illegal" invasion of Ukraine.

       Mr Zahawi said Mr Putin "has no place" in Ukraine and Russia has to "make sure that they withdraw".

       Asked if he agreed with Mr Biden's description of Mr Putin as a "butcher", Mr Zahawi told Sky News: “I think war crimes have been committed in Ukraine, no doubt in my mind.

       "The evidence is clear on that. It is right to collect that evidence because it is also important, my family had experience with Saddam Hussein, it is important that despots and dictators understand that there will be a reckoning and that reckoning will come through the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

       Joe Biden's speech in Poland on Saturday night continues to make headlines after he labelled Vladimir Putin a "butcher" and insisted the Russian President "cannot remain in power".

       The apparent call for regime change prompted a backlash from Mr Biden's allies and Mr Zahawi today distanced the UK from the remarks.

       Asked on Sky News if he believed Mr Biden had misspoke, the Education Secretary said: "Well, both the White House and the President have been clear on this. We are in lockstep with them that it is up to the Russian people to decide who governs them and the future of their country.”

       Pushed specifically on Mr Biden saying Mr Putin "cannot remain in power", he said: “I hear you. What I would say is it is up to the Russian people.

       "I think the Russian people are pretty fed up, not only because they are watching their friends and some of them have family in Ukraine who have been attacked by the Putin regime, clearly war crimes have been committed because they are targeting innocent civilians in civilian areas."

       Good morning and welcome to today's politics live blog.

       We have a busy Monday ahead, with Nadhim Zahawi launching his new education white paper this morning before Rishi Sunak faces a grilling on his Spring Statement in front of the Treasury Select Committee this afternoon.

       I will guide you through the key developments.

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