Ireland’s former taoiseach warns of conservative Russian influence and says US is now ‘off the pitch’ under Trump

LGBTQ+ rights in Europe are caught in a “chill wind” from east and west as Vladimir Putin’s Russia exports its conservative agenda and the “Americans are off the pitch” under Donald Trump, Ireland’s former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

Varadkar, who in 2017 became Ireland’s first out gay prime minister, said Europe needed to “step up” to avoid the continent becoming further squeezed by global forces seeking to chip away at recent progress.