Portrait of the week: Welfare war, gold prices soar and gang jailed for toilet heist 

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Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, entertained 29 other national leaders online to seek a way of guaranteeing the future security of Ukraine. He then invited European defence leaders to meet in London. He spoke by phone to President Volodymyr Zelensky after the inconclusive conversation between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin. John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, thought to be the last Battle of Britain pilot, died aged 105.

The government faced resentment in its own party against welfare cuts outlined by Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary: the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments would be tightened; incapacity benefits under universal credit would be frozen for existing claimants and those under 22 would not be able to claim it. Ms Kendall said the measures would save £5 billion a year in 2029-30, but wouldn’t say quite how. With the number of people in jail at 87,556, the Ministry of Justice activated a scheme to use police cells temporarily. A gang of three men was convicted of the theft of a £4.8 million golden lavatory from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace.

The government announced the abolition of NHS England, whose function will be brought under the Department of Health. About half its 14,400 staff would go, and half of the Department of Health’s 3,500, it was predicted. The economy contracted unexpectedly by 0.1 per cent in January. Santander said it was closing 95 of its 444 branches. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said ‘Net zero by 2050 is impossible’; Britain is obliged to reach it by a law passed in 2019. The Refugee Council said that, by the beginning of the year, 41,987 asylum appeals were waiting for a hearing, and almost 40,000 migrants were being housed in hotels. In the seven days to 17 March no migrants arrived in small boats.