Boris Johnson missed a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday afternoon as he faced a grilling by MPs over the partygate scandal.
The prime minister was forced to cancel a conversation with Mr Putin following the publication of the Sue Gray report, which accused Downing Street of “failures of leadership” over a series of parties held during lockdown.
A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed the call with Mr Putin had been “postponed”, but could not confirm when it would take place.
Mr Johnson will fly to Ukraine on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky amid mounting tensions on the border with Russia. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last week warned an invasion was “imminent” as the Kremlin continued its military build-up.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Johnson had urged Mr Putin to “step back from the brink” and said an invasion of Ukraine would be “an absolute disaster for the world”.
However, the publication of a summary of Ms Gray’s report on Monday diverted the prime minister’s attention away from the Ukraine crisis as he prepared for a Commons statement and debate.
Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Commons defence select committee, told the Telegraph the cancellation of the call would “remind Putin just how distracted Britain has become”.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss had also been due to fly to Ukraine with Mr Johnson – but was forced to cancel her trip after testing positive for Covid on Monday.
Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab defended Mr Johnson’s failure to speak to Mr Putin on Tuesday, telling Sky News the rescheduling between talks between two heads of state “happens all the time” and “call sheets dart around the place”.
He said: "This Prime Minister is the one who has been leading the transatlantic response, with the United States, with European allies, with the most robust approach on sanctions, providing support.
"He is going out to Ukraine to see the president of Ukraine."
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said the delayed call showed there were “real-world consequences” of having a prime minister fighting for his political survival.
He said: “The situation in Ukraine is immensely serious. We want diplomacy to succeed.
“This crisis requires the attention of a focused Prime Minister, but the Boris Johnson is playing catch up and the government is in disarray.
“Yesterday he missed a call with Putin because he was in Parliament defending the indefensible.”
