Prime Minister Keir Starmer will update the House of Commons following his meeting with US President Donald Trump and his emergency defence summit of European leaders in London
Keir Starmer will address MPs for the first time since his blitz of high-stakes diplomatic action in the US and London.
The Prime Minister will update the House of Commons at around 3.30pm following his meeting with Donald Trump in Washington DC, as well as the emergency defence summit of European leaders he gathered at the weekend. Mr Starmer told European powers they must realise it is “time to act” and warned they stand at a “crossroads in history”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined Mr Starmer and 17 other leaders and representatives at Lancaster House, a mansion near Buckingham Palace, on Sunday. The PM unveiled plans to set up a “coalition of the willing” to defend Ukraine and to guarantee peace, backed with British “boots on the ground and planes in the air”. He added it must have “strong US backing”. The PM also committed £1.6billion towards helping Ukraine purchase 5,000 missiles for its defence.
The unusual show of solidary came less than 48 hours after he faced a sickening diatribe from US President Donald Trump and sidekick JD Vance in the White House. In contrast to the televised bust-up, the Ukrainian president received a warm welcome to No10 on Saturday, with Mr Starmer unusually walking up Downing Street to greet him with a hug as he arrived.
America is attempting to negotiate an end to hostilities directly with Russia but Mr Starmer has insisted European countries must play a key role in enforcing a peace deal and deter Vladimir Putin from breaking it. Mr Starmer at the weekend said he had sought to act as a “bridge” and end the feuding, after he held multiple phone calls with Mr Trump, Mr Zelensky and Mr Macron over the weekend.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Zelensky expressed gratitude to Europe and America for the support his country has received since the outbreak of the conflict, but stressed there could be no peace deal without security guarantees. He wrote: “As a result of these days, we see clear support from Europe. Even more unity, even more willingness to cooperate.
“Everyone is united on the main issue – for peace to be real, we need real security guarantees. And this is the position of all of Europe – the entire continent. The United Kingdom, the European Union, Turkiye. Of course, we understand the importance of America, and we are grateful for all the support we’ve received from the United States. There has not been a day when we haven’t felt gratitude.
“It’s gratitude for the preservation of our independence – our resilience in Ukraine is based on what our partners are doing for us – and for their own security. What we need is peace, not endless war. And that’s why we say security guarantees are the key to this.”
