Keir Starmer is expected to join dozens of military chiefs from the so-called coalition of the willing today for crunch talks on how to shore up potential ceasefire in Ukraine
Keir Starmer visits HM Submarine in Scotland
Vladimir Putin respects Britain’s nuclear deterrent, Keir Starmer has said as he met a submarine crew returning from a record 204-day operation.
The Prime Minister boarded one of Britain’s nuclear subs on Monday that patrols the seas ready to unleash missiles as part of the Trident deterrent. Asked if Putin respects Britain’s nukes, he said: “Yes. The UK is, within Europe, one of the leading nations on defence and security because we have our own independent deterrent and we’re committed to Nato.”
The PM said the nuclear deterrent was more important than ever, saying: “It’s been an incredible effective deterrent for decades and we must not take that for granted… the last few years and the last few months have been a reminder across the country, across Europe, how important that first duty of defence and security really is.”
It comes as dozens of military chiefs meet today for crunch talks on how to shore up potential ceasefire in Ukraine. Top brass from countries from the PM’s “coalition of the willing” will gather to hammer out plans for a peacekeeping operation to deter Putin from invading again.
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Speaking in Downing Street ahead of the talks, Mr Starmer said Europe needs to “answer the question the US has put on the table” in terms of ramping up its defence. But he said he hoped the UK and other allies looking to boost their budgets would “bind NATO more closely together”, including the US, amid fears Donald Trump could abandon Europe.
“We’ve got to step up on our defence and our security,” Mr Starmer said. “That’s not just a question on Ukraine, in my view it’s a long overdue step up which probably should have been better appreciated the moment Russia went across the border into Ukraine.”
Mr Starmer has been spearheading efforts to form a “coalition of the willing” to back up any peace deal, which is expected to involve around 30 countries. “I can sense more of a collective will in Europe to do this now,” he said.
“We need to be in a position to answer the question; How are you going to defend the deal? I am clear in my mind and [President] Zelensky is very clear in his mind that Minsk [agreement in 2014] didn’t work because it didn’t have any security arrangements around it.
“We have to understand Putin’s ambitions. He doesn’t respect a deal that doesn’t have security arrangements around it because he’s breached them.”
He said some leaders had discussed moving “at the speed of the fastest” rather than “going at the speed of the most cautious” as before. But he added: “I don’t see this as the alternative to the relationship we have with the US.”
The Prime Minister is expected to join the military planning meeting after visiting Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, to mark the start of construction of the Dreadnought submarine, the next generation of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Earlier this week he secretly joined submariners as they returned home to their families for the first time in months, making him the first Prime Minister to join a so-called “day zero” since 2013.
Mr Starmer said he was struck by the commitment of the crew, who worked six hours on, six hours off, for months, without seeing daylight. He said: “We do ask extraordinary commitment from those who are doing the nuclear deterrent frontline work for us and I think as the PM who writes the letters of last resort, to go and meet the team that are operating our nuclear deterrent is a real sense of duty.”
He also met families as they waited to be reunited after months without contact with their loved ones. Mr Starmer will use his visit to Barrow today to set out how the town is a blueprint for how defence spending can boost communities. The PM said: “We want to buy British and we want this to be felt in jobs across the country.”
He will announce that the King plans to hand the title ‘Royal’ to the Port of Barrow in recognition of the town’s role in the nation’s security. He will also “lay the keel” for the new Dreadnought-class submarines, which will replace Vanguard-class that operate Britain’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent. They are expected to enter service in the 2030s.
He will also unveil a £28 million funding package for T-Levels, part of which will benefit Furness College in Barrow to train up future submarine builders.
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