Donald Trump is right to pile pressure on Nato allies to boost their defence budgets, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Ahead of a meeting with the US president, the prime minister said the UK and Europe “have to do more for our defence and security” as he prepares to outline a pathway to spending 2.5 per cent of Britain’s GDP on defence.
Sir Keir said talks to end the war in Ukraine mark “a generational moment”, promising to “play our role if a force is required in Ukraine once a peace agreement is reached”.
And, in an appeal to Mr Trump, who has so far ruled out playing an ongoing role in any peacekeeping force in Ukraine, the PM said America must be part of any security guarantee to stop Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine again.
Sir Keir will meet Mr Trump face to face in Washington this week and is expected to present plans to hike Britain’s defence budget to the 2.5 per cent target, up from 2.3 per cent currently. He is also expected to extend an invitation from the King for a state visit to the UK, making Mr Trump the first US president to receive two state visits.
Addressing the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow ahead of the third anniversary of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “This is a generational moment. And I’ve been saying for some time that we Europeans, including the United Kingdom, have to do more for our defence and security.
“The US is right about that. In this new era, we can’t cling to the comforts of the past. It is time to take responsibility for our security…
“And I am clear that Britain will take a leading responsibility. We have to be ready to play our role if a force is required in Ukraine once a peace agreement is reached.”
As well as hinting at a major uplift to Britain’s defence budget, Sir Keir has promised to put troops on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force following a deal to end the war.
But he has been warned by military chiefs that even a move to the 2.5 per cent target “won’t touch the sides” and urged to go much further.
Donald Trump has called for Nato members to spend as much as 5 per cent of GDP on their armed forces.
The Washington meeting poses a major challenge for the PM, who wants to take a firm stance against Mr Trump’s attacks on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, while not dragging the UK into a trade war with the US that could push up prices for British consumers.
On Sunday, education secretary Bridget Phillipson also sought to avoid criticising the US president, saying he was right to bring Russia to the negotiating table over the war.
But she repeated criticism from Sir Keir of Ukraine’s exclusion from peace talks, insisting “there can be no settlement” without involving Kyiv.
In a call ahead of his meeting with Mr Trump, Sir Keir also told Mr Zelensky Ukraine must be at the heart of any ongoing peace talks.
But Mr Trump has accused Mr Zelensky of being a dictator and said he did not see the importance of him being involved in talks. In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said Mr Zelensky has “been in the meetings for three years and nothing got done… so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings”.
He also attacked Britain and France, ahead of a separate meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron this week, saying the two countries have “done nothing” to end the war.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has hinted at spending cuts elsewhere to increase the defence budget, warning that it would require “difficult choices”.
She said last week: “Recognising the priority of defence spending in the world that we live in today means that we will have to make difficult choices so that we can spend that money that is needed to keep our country safe.”
Ms Phillipson on Sunday added that spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence is “ambitious”, defying calls for the UK to go further.
Asked whether the Prime Minister would promise Donald Trump that Britain will spend “much more” when he meets the US President next week, Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Let’s be clear, 2.5 per cent is ambitious.
“We will get there, but it is ambitious, and this is also in the context of the public finances which, let’s be honest were left in a devastating state by the Conservatives – a £22 billion black hole, no credible plan for this nonsense that they claim around how they were going to reach 2.5 per cent.”
