Keir Starmer will give a press conference in No10 ahead of his visit to Washington DC to meet Donald Trump as the future of Europe hangs in the balance due to the threat of Vladimir Putin
Watch LIVE: Prime Minister set to deliver statement on defence
Keir Starmer will double down on calls for the US to help protect Europe against tyrant Vladimir Putin ahead of his trip to the White House.
The PM will travel to Washington DC later this week to meet Donald Trump – with Europe’s future hanging in the balance. It comes after he announced he is ramping up defence spending in the face of Russian aggression. The PM earlier told MPs the UK faces a “generational challenge” and warned it would take a “whole society effort” to prevail.
Mr Starmer, who will visit the White House and speak to Donald Trump later this week, vowed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by 2027. This will rise to 3% within a decade, he said.
The Prime Minister told the Commons: “We must find courage in our history, courage in who we are as a nation, because courage is what our own era now demands of us.” In his bleak update warning of the danger Vladimir Putin poses to the UK’s national security, he said: “We must change our national security posture because a generational challenge requires a generational response that will demand some extremely difficult and painful choices.”
The announcement means the Government will spend £13.4billion more on defence every year from 2027, the Prime Minister said. But he faces a backlash after telling MPs he would slash spending on overseas aid to pay for it.
Former Labour leadership contender David Miliband, now head of the International Rescue Committee branded it “a blow to Britain’s proud reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader”. And Green Party MP Ellie Chowns dubbed the move “horrifying” and added: “How many people will fall ill or die because they cannot access health services; how many more will go hungry?” She hit out: “Taking money from the poorest in the name of defence is both cruel and unnecessary – we could and should instead be taxing the wealthiest who can afford to contribute more.”
Mr Starmer admitted he had been forced to make “extremely difficult and painful choices”. In a statement to MPs he said: “One of the great lessons of our history is that instability in Europe will always wash up on our shores, and that tyrants like Putin only respond to strength.
“Russia is a menace in our waters, in our airspace and on our streets. They have launched cyber-attacks on our NHS – only seven years ago, a chemical weapons attack on the streets of Salisbury.”
Alongside the rise in defence spending, he said there would be extra cash for intelligence and security services.
The announcement comes ahead of a difficult trip to Washington DC, where he will discuss the crisis with Trump. The US President has sparked panic across Europe by opening talks with Russia about a peace deal – with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky frozen out.
The US President has also launched a vicious attack on Zelensky, branding him a “dictator” and suggesting he does not have popular support. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “We may be watching before our very eyes the betrayal of our Ukrainian allies by America, and with it the potential betrayal of Europe and of Britain to we must respond.
“Now it is up to the United Kingdom to lead in Europe.”
Mr Starmer said it is crucial that the US provides a security guarantee if a peace deal is reached. He has said he is prepared to send British troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission, but insists the US must provide a “backstop”.
The PM warned: “We need to do that together with the US, because what is needed more than anything is a lasting peace, a ceasefire that simply gives Putin the chance to regroup and to go again is in nobody’s interest.“