David Lammy met JD Vance over the weekend, Commons told

David Lammy met US vice president JD Vance in Washington over the weekend, he has told MPs.

The Foreign Secretary said that he discussed the US’s now-ended pause on military intelligence sharing and the prospect of a ceasefire with Mr Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio in recent days.

His comments came in a statement to the House of Commons following last week’s meeting of G7 foreign ministers – a group which also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel had asked Mr Lammy to set out his discussions with US counterparts on the suspension and “his assessments of the consequences caused”.

Mr Lammy said in his response: “I’m pleased to say that our assessment is that that pause, as she will know, was for a short period, not an extended period, and therefore it has not had a material effect.

“But we were pleased to see that resume, and we were pleased to see what flowed from Jeddah which was the United States, European allies and President (Volodymyr) Zelensky of Ukraine absolutely square with the need for that ceasefire, and it is for Putin to unconditionally now accept that ceasefire – the ball is in his court.

“And I was pleased to be able to discuss these matters with Secretary (Marco) Rubio over the course of the three days at the G7 but also with Vice President (JD) Vance yesterday morning at his residence in Washington.”

Dame Priti had earlier told the Commons it is “very welcome that the US military aid and intelligence sharing has resumed and vital that the US and Ukraine continue to work together in the face of this appalling conflict”.

The US confirmed last week that it was lifting its suspension of intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine. It had first been imposed following the public bust-up between Donald Trump and Mr Zelsnsky at the White House last month.