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Announcement comes ahead of Sir Keir’s crunch meeting with US president Donald Trump to end war in Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer said he “agrees with Trump” that the UK needs to do more towards European security after announcing a boost in defence spending earlier today.
Speaking from Downing Street, the prime minister reiterated his announcement in the House of Commons that defence spending will increase to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2027.
Sir Keir was repeatedly asked by reporters whether the decision was made due to pressure from the US president.
“It’s true President Trump thinks we should do more, and I agree with him,” he said.
But the decision was “three years in the making”, he added, saying that we have “known that this decision had to be taken” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The funding boost comes at the expense of the overseas development budget, which will be cut from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent. The decision was “funded by hard choices”, Sir Keir told reporters.
“I want to be clear: that is not an announcement that I’m happy to make,” he said.
“However the realities of our dangerous new era means that the defence and national security of our country must always come first.”
Humanitarian charities said they were „stunned“ and „appalled“ by the Labour government’s decision to cut its international aid budget to boost defence spending.
They warned it would damage UK influence and have a devastating impact on the countries the charities support.
David Miliband, former foreign secretary and now head of the International Rescue Committee charity, said the move was „a blow to Britain’s proud reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader“.
Nick Dearden, director of campaign group Global Justice Now, said: „To appease Trump, he will cut aid to its lowest level in a generation. It is a day of shame for Britain.“
United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said the British aid cut would „undoubtedly risk lives“, while Oxfam accused Sir Keir of „bending to populist pressures“.
Sir Keir’s Labour government had previously pledged to restore the aid budget back to 0.7 per cent from 0.5 per cent. Instead, it will be cut to 0.3 per cent.
Donald Trump is risking world peace by siding with North Korea, China and Belarus in refusing to condemn Vladimir Putin, senior Tories have claimed.
In a chilling warning, former deputy prime minster Michael Heseltine said the US president risks forming a “new axis” which will reward Russia and its allies.
Lord Heseltine spoke out after the Trump administration, alongside the three dictatorships, rejected a UN resolution against Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The resolution was backed by Europe and most other nations.
The vote came just hours before French president Emmanuel Macron had visited Trump in the White House and ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington later this week.
David Maddox and Alexander Butler report:
Russian president Vladimir Putin has accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of becoming a “toxic” figure in Ukraine.
“He gives absurd orders dictated not by military considerations but by political considerations, and it is unclear what these are based on,” the autocrat, who ordered the illegal invasion of Ukraine three years ago yesterday, told Russian state-controlled TV.
“This leads to unjustifiably large losses, if not to say very large or catastrophic losses for the Ukrainian army,” he added.
“He is becoming toxic for society as a whole, and this is also indicated by today’s vote, as I think, in the Ukrainian Rada on the extension of his authority.”
Sir Keir Starmer has declined to comment on the US voting with the likes of Russia, Iran and North Korea in a UN resolution on Ukraine yesterday.
“I will go to see president Trump… in order to ensure we can take the relationship between our two countries from strength to strength,” he said.
“For me that is far more important than commenting on individual resolutions at the UN, notwithstanding the context that that inevitably creates,” Sir Keir added.
“We have a good relationship, we have a positive relationship, our countries have a strong relationship, and I am going to build that relationship.”
Political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Sir Keir Starmer has slapped down Nigel Farage for “fawning over Putin”, accusing him of failing to turn up for his Commons statement on defence spending.
Asked by reporters if he is “Nigel Farage in disguise” after slashing the aid budget and boosting defence spending, the prime minister issued a robust response, saying: “Nigel Farage didn’t even turn up for the debate in Parliament today. Nigel Farage is fawning over Putin.
“That’s not patriotism. That is not what working people need.”
He added: “What I’ve done is take the duty of prime minister seriously, which is to ensure that our citizens are safe and secure. And this decision is made to ensure they are safe and secure.
“It is a decision intended to ensure that we fight for the peace that we’ve enjoyed for the last 80 years, so that for generations to come, they can enjoy the freedoms that we have enjoyed. I’ve taken this with only one thing in mind and that is the citizens of this country, for whom I am responsible.”
Political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Sir Keir Starmer denied his government was bounced into a decision on defence spending by Donald Trump, saying this decision has “been coming for three years”.
Asked about the timing of today’s announcement – which comes days before the PM sits down with Mr Trump in Washington – Sir Keir told reporters in Downing Street: “In our heart of hearts, we’ve all known that this decision has been coming for three years since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.
“The last few weeks have accelerated my thinking on when we needed to make this announcement.
“I’ll be very clear about that because it is absolutely clear to me now that the decision that started life three years ago, needs to be taken now to rise to the challenge”.
Asked if he would have announced a defence spending boost if Donald Trump were not in the White House, Sir Keir admitted that he agrees with the US president’s stance on defence.
„Yes, it’s true President Trump thinks we should do more, and I agree with him,“ Sir Keir told reporters.
„It chimes with my thinking on this. And by more, I mean more capability, I mean more co-ordination, and I mean more spending.”
But he added that the decision has been “three years in the making”, and that we have “known that this decision had to be taken [for three years]”.
He said: “Of course, the discussions about talks between the parties, a possible peace, what that might mean for European security, the role the UK would have to play in that, has brought our response into sharp focus.
“I have made a commitment… that we will play our full part in security guarantees.”
Sir Keir says the increase in defence spending can only be “funded by hard choices” in the short term.
He reiterates his earlier announcement that overseas development spending will be cut from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent.
“I want to be clear: that is not an announcement that I’m happy to make,” Sir Keir said “I’m proud of Britain’s pioneering record on overseas development and we will continue to play a key humanitarian role in wartorn countries like Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza.
“And we will do everything to move towards a world where we can rebuild our development.
“However the realities of our dangerous new era means that the defence and national security of our country must always come first.”
Sir Keir Starmer is speaking in a news conference after announcing a hike in defence spending earlier today.
Speaking of Ukrainians, he says: “Their courage is inspiring. And Britain can be proud of its response. British families have opened their doors.
He continues: “I will put on record again that I respect the robust response taken by the previous government. I supported it in opposition and we have built on it in government.”
“But as the nature of that conflict changes, as it has done in recent weeks, it also brings our response into sharper focus.
“I believe must now change our approach to national security so we are ready to meet the challenges of our volatile world. Putin’s aggression does not stop in Ukraine.”
Sir Keir also referenced the Novichok attack in Salisbury of seven years ago as he made clear that Russian aggression crosses into British territory.
The deputy director of the defence and security think tank Rusi has labelled the Prime Minister’s intention to get to spending 3% of GDP on defence during the next parliament as “enormously significant”.
Malcolm Chalmers said in a statement that Tuesday’s announcement marks “the largest sustained increase in the defence budget since the war”.
He added: “A large part of the initial increase to 2.5% is likely to be needed to fill gaps in existing, but underfunded, programmes, as well as addressing urgent shortfalls in readiness and munitions.
“The commitment to 3% by the mid-2030s is enormously significant, giving the armed forces and defence industry the ability to plan for the long-term.
“This has the potential to increase the effectiveness with which the MoD budget is spent, as it moves away from the stop and start that has been so damaging in the past. In order to reap this dividend, though, the MoD will need to ensure that it does not over-commit its budget as it has done so often in the past.
He described the 3% target as an “opportunity to finance a transformation in how our military fights, ensuring that innovation is not always squeezed out by spending on big platforms”.
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Starmer ‘agrees with Trump’ that UK should do more after boosting defence spending – The Independent
