Ukraine is the ‘test of our times’ and the US is vital in securing peace, Keir Starmer tells MPs – UK politics live | Politics

Kemi Badenoch said the Conservatives were backing the government’s stance on Ukraine.

In her response to Starmer, she asked for detail on some point, but said she welcomed what he did at the weekend.

In respoonse, Starmer confirmed that he had Badenoch had a conversation about this this morning.

He confirmed details of any troop deployment would be put the Commons in due course.

He said using frozen Russian assets, not just the interest from frozen Russian assets, was a complicated issue. But he said the government did want to move forward on this.

And, on sanctions, he said agreed with Badenoch that they should not be lifted immediately fighting stops

Starmer said Britain would play a leading role in the “coalition of the willing”, protecting Ukraine, “with, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air”.

He concluded:

It is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent, but to succeed this effort must also have strong US backing …

We stand by Ukraine because it’s the right thing to do, but we also stand by them because it’s in our interest to do so, because if we do not achieve a lasting peace, then the instability and insecurity that has hit the living standards of working people in Britain that will only get worse, and Putin’s appetite for conflict and chaos that will only grow.

So a strong peace, a just peace, a lasting peace, that has now to be our goal.

Starmer sums up the four parts of the plan to help Ukraine discussed by European leaders yesterday.

First, that we must keep the military aid to Ukraine flowing, keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia, and to that end, alongside our partnership on air defense, we are doubling down on military aid. Already this year, we have taken our support to record levels, but on Saturday, we also agreed a new £2.2bn loan for Ukraine, backed not by the British taxpayer, but by the profits from frozen Russian assets.

Second, we agreed that any lasting peace must guarantee the sovereignty and security of Ukraine, and that Ukraine must be at the table when negotiating their future. That is absolutely vital.

Third, we agreed that in the event of a peace deal, we will continue to boost Ukraine’s defenses and Ukraine’s deterrence.

And finally, fourth, we agreed to develop a coalition of the willing ready to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee the peace.

Starmer refers to the “moving scenes” that greeted President Zelenskyy when he arrived at No 10 on Saturday.

I saw for myself he was taken aback when the crowd in Whitehall cheered at the top of their voices and they were speaking for the whole of our country, a reminder that this government, this house and this nation, stand in unwavering support behind him and the people of Ukraine.

Starmer says he welcomes President Trump’s commitment to peace in Ukraine, “which nobody in this house should doubt for a second is sincere”.

Keir Starmer is speaking now.

He says MPs face “the test of our times”.

And he says he situation Britain faces shows how national security is combined with economic security.

He says the deal he announced last night symbolishes the new era – allowing Ukraine to use £1.6bn to buy missiles that will be made in Belfast. That will put Ukraine in the strongest possibl, while helping UK jobs.

He says what happened in the Oval Office between President Trump and President Zelenskyy was “something nobody in this house wants to see”. But he goes on:

But I do want to be crystal clear – we must strengthen our relationship with America, for our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment.

They are, and always will be indispensable, and we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic.

In fact, if anything, the past week has shown that that idea is totally unserious, because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking a side, this week has shown with total clarity that the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine.

Keir Starmer is about to make a statement to MPs about Ukraine.

Here is the statement he made at the start of his press conference yesterday about the summit he chaired for (mostly) European leaders about cooperating to support Ukraine.

His opening statement is likely to overlap quite a lot with what he said yesterday.

Like the Conservatives (see 12.31pm), the Liberal Democrats have also condemned Nigel Farage for siding with Donald Trump against Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his comments on LBC this morning. (See 11.48am). Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said:

Nigel Farage is once again showing his true colours as Trump’s own spokesman here in Britain.

Zelensky showed courage and integrity in that room – in stark contrast to Farage’s cowardly approach of licking Trump’s boots.

Farage is more focused on promoting Trump and Musk’s interests in the UK than British interests in the States. He was once again parroting White House talking points this morning, to the dismay of British people here at home. It’s clearer than ever that Nigel Farage is simply out for himself and his Mar-a-Lago cronies.

Weapons and fighter jet manufacturer BAE Systems has seen its shares soar higher as the defence sector received a boost following the Ukraine summit hosted by Keir Starmer over the weekend, PA Media reports. PA says:

Shares in BAE hit a record high after jumping by 19% at one stage in Monday morning trading, helping the wider FTSE 100 Index lift to a new all-time high, up 0.5% at 8,856.5.

Among stocks, engine maker Rolls-Royce followed closely behind BAE on the blue chip index, with a 6% rise amid the rally in the defence sector.

Keir Starmer has hailed the defence sector as offering “the next generation of good, secure, well-paid jobs”.

Speaking at an event for apprentices and representatives from the defence sector in Downing Street, Starmer said:

For those of you that are thinking about a career in defence, in this industry, I hope the students feel inspired by what they see today, the opportunities before them and the possibilities for their own future.

Because this isn’t just about security for Britain, it’s about security for working people as well; the next generation of good, secure, well-paid jobs and the pride and purpose of knowing your work keeps the nation safe.

Last week Starmer announced that he will raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDPby 2027. The government presented this as a jobs announcement, as well as a security announcement, and today the Ministry of Defence is announcing that it will set targets for how much of defence spending should go to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In a news release, the MoD says:

The government has today announced its plans to launch a new hub to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with better access to the defence supply chain and committed to set direct SME spending targets for the Ministry of Defence by June this year. This is a chance for small, often family-owned, firms to bring their innovations, their agility and their expert workforce to the task of strengthening Britain’s defences. It will help create new jobs, boosting the economy of small towns and suburbs in the UK.

Nearly 600 migrants arrived in the UK on Sunday after crossing the Channel, according to data released by the Home Office. PA Media says:

Figures published today indicated that some 592 migrants arrived on 2 March across 11 boats, the highest number of arrivals on a single day so far this year.

It takes the total number of arrivals this year to 2,716. Before Sunday the previous daily high for arrivals was 260, which was recorded on 13 January.

This is 20% higher than at the same point last year, when the total stood at 2,255, but 8% lower than at this stage in 2023, when the total was 2,953.

French authorities have also released a statement on recuse operations that took place overnight from March 1 into March 2.

Migrants on a number of boats requested assistance from the French authorities through the night, including two on one boat who were suspected of having hypothermia.

Sunday’s figures take the total number of crossings since Keir Starmer became prime minister to 25,958.

At the morning lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said that Keir Starmer believed that Europe would have to do the “heavy lifting” in terms of providing the force that would provide Ukraine security in the event of a peace deal. But Starmer also thought this effort would need “strong US backing”, the spokesperson said.

Some reporters queried why the spokesperson was talking about “US backing”, and not a “security guarantee”, which is the wording Starmer was using last week ahead of his meeting with President Trump in the White House.

Asked if the government was still looking for a security guarantee from the US, the spokesperson replied:

That position has not changed. Obviously, the discussions in terms of what that looks like are for the discussions. We will be taking those discussions forward. But it is absolutely crucial, and the prime minister has made it repeatedly clear, that US backing is needed to provide that necessary deterrence.

Government sources have suggested that, while Europe would provide the troops to help protect Ukraine on the ground, for it to be effective it would require the US to provide air cover and other back-up, logistical support.

But, asked about this, the spokesperson said the UK government had not publicly clarified what it was asking for. He said:

The form of the security guarantee, we have not set out. That is for future discussions. But we are absolutely clear that only the United States can provide the ultimate deterrent to Putin. We’ve been really clear that we need a durable and lasting peace in Ukraine, and that the US is going to be a key part of achieving that.

Downing Street has said that “intense” work is now taking place to work to develop the proposals to help Ukraine that were discussed at yesterday’s summit in London.

Speaking at the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said:

The summit yesterday agreed some important steps forward, and the prime minister outlined a four-step plan there, both in terms of keeping military aid flowing to Ukraine and increasing the economic pressure on Russia, that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security, third, in the event of a peace deal we will keep boosting Ukraine’s own defensive capabilities, and finally that we will go further to develop a coalition of willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee the peace.

There’s now obviously intense work going to take forward that work. We will obviously update as we get any further news on that.

As the PM also said yesterday, we obviously want to keep up this momentum. There’s going to be various options on the table which are now subject to further discussions with both US and European partners. The defence secretary will be travelling out to the US this week.

Asked about the French proposal for a one-month ceasefire, the spokesperson said this was one of several options on the table. But he said he would not be proving commentary on the various plans that have been floated.

Asked if it was helpful for Peter Mandelson to be saying that President Zelenskyy should be giving his unequivocal backing to President Trump’s plan, the spokesperson said Luke Pollard covered this in his interview this morning. (See 9.12am.) He said Keir Starmer has been clear about wanting to see a “durable peace”.

The Commons authorities have confirmed that Keir Starmer is making a statement to MPs on Ukraine after housing questions today. There are no urgent questions, and so it will start at 3.30pm. It is likely to run for at least 90 minutes.

Britons support Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the aid budget to fund a larger defence budget by a margin of more than three to one, polling from YouGov suggests.

The proposal is especially popular with Reform UK supports, according to the polling. But even Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters are overwhelmingly in favour.

When Kemi Badenoch first became Conservative party leader, the Tories were inclined to ignore Reform UK as much as possible. But with Reform UK ahead of the Conservatives in most recent polls, Badenoch’s party is fighting back more aggressively.

In response to Nigel Farage’s LBC phone-in (see 11.48am), Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, has described his stance on President Zelenskyy as “morally wrong”. She also compared him to Jeremy Corbyn because of his stance on Russia. She said:

Nigel Farage is completely wrong. President Zelenskyy is a hero, who has stood up to Putin’s aggression, and led his country’s defence against their barbaric and illegal invasion over the last 3 years – and it is troubling to not hear the Leader of Reform say that.

For Nigel Farage to sit there pointing the finger at Zelenskyy is both morally wrong and diplomatically counterproductive. At this uncertain and dangerous time, one would hope that MPs of all stripes would be putting our national interest first, rather than playing politics.

But sadly, it is not surprising. Like Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Reform UK seems to have history equivocating over Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Here are some more detailed quotes from Nigel Farage’s LBC phone-in covered earlier.

• Farage, the Reform UK leader and President Trump supporter, claimed that “good” was going to come out of Trump’s shouting match with President Zelenskyy in the White House of Friday. He said:

What is interesting is that before Zelenskyy had left the White House, he realised that he had overplayed his hand … Before Zelenskyy even left the White House, he was willing to go back in and sign the minerals deal …

I actually think good is going to come of Friday. Zelensky is going to sign the deal.

I think President Zelenskyy was very unwise to tell the Americans what would happen to them if they didn’t back him. I think it was unwise. Sure, Vance and Trump bit back. But I think in diplomatic terms Zelenskyy played it very badly.

Even Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador, is making very, very similar points. [See 9.12am.]

Asked if Trump and JD Vance were right to treat Zelenskyy in the way they did, he replied:

I wouldn’t expect a guest to be rude to me in my own house, absolutely not. I would expect a guest to treat me with respect. Doesn’t mean for a minute that Vance and Trump – I’m not defending what they did.

You know what? If I turned up on the White House. I’d make sure I was wearing a suit and that my shoes were clean, absolutely.

Our prime minister was briefed and briefed and briefed as to how to deal with the visit to the White House. If Zelenskyy wants to bowl in and show no respect to a man who we all know is incredibly old fashioned about this stuff … if you are going in with a positive mindset, maybe Zelenskyy should have thought about that.

And he defended criticising Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit in the Oval Office but not Elon Musk.

Musk isn’t negotiating with Trump, and Musk isn’t asking for billions of dollars from Trump, and Musk isn’t asking for military support from Trump.

• Farage said he was “surprised” that Trump told Starmer he was inclined to support the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal. For weeks Farage has been saying that, from his contacts with people inside the Trump administration, he believed Trump was opposed to it. Asked why he got this wrong, Farage said that Trump only said he was “inclined” to support the deal last week.

Trump said he was inclined to support it. Maybe he would just be nice to Keir Starmer, who was there in the Oval Office. He can be nice to people in the Oval Office.

I have to say, I’m very surprised, having spoken to some people who are cabinet members there.

Asked why he thought the US had changed its mind, he said.

They probably think the Brits are going to do this anyway, that the Brits are desperate to get rid of the Chagos islands for some sort of student politics-type reason. And that if Britain is going to get rid of it anyway, then this is the best of a bad job.

What I’ve also been told by senior Americans is they will not be paying a penny. So they probably think, if we’ve got use of the base for a long time, if the Brits are going to pay the bill, then OK, fine.

• He defended saying Andrew Tate is an important influence for young men. That did not mean he was saying this was a good thing, he said. He was describing a phenomenon, not supporting it, he claimed.

Tate has become a powerful voice for many young men. I am not saying that is a good thing. But I’m not surprised in some ways that some of these things are happening.

When we were playing football in Germany recently, England fans were told don’t sing, don’t chant and don’t drink more than two pints. We’re telling young men not to be men. We’re almost emasculating young men. And so they’re looking for other role models.

• He defended the Trump allies Elon Musk and Steve Bannon over claims they have both performed Nazi salutes at rallies. Asked specifially about the more recent Bannon salute, he said:

As for Musk and Bannon – both of whom I know, Steve, I know very well – I think what Bannon was doing was, frankly, taking the mickey out of Musk because Musk had done something similar to that just after the inauguration. Are they Nazi salutes? I don’t think they are for a moment.

Asked what they were if they were not Nazi salutes, Farage replied “very unwise”. Asked if they were attempted Nazi salutes, he replied:

Well, they’re not really Nazi salutes because they’re out to the side, not in front. Look, we could we could drill down … Do I think Musk’s a Nazi? No.

In his interview on the Today programme this morning, Luke Pollard, the defence minister, was asked if if the UK is still sharing intelligence with the US, given that Tulsi Gabbard is President Trump’s director of national intelligence. Gabbard is so sympathetic to Russia that she has been described by Democrats as a possible Russian asset.

Asked by Justin Webb if the UK could be sure that intelligence given to the US would not get to the Russians, Pollard replied:

Yes. We have a deep and serious relationship, both on intelligence, security and defence matters. This is a daily and continuous relationship. It keeps the UK safe. It keeps America safe from us having this deep relationship, and it’s one that we are planning to continue.

(This was one of those questions where what was most surprising was not the answer, but the fact that it was asked in the first place.)

Pollard also said the government is confident that the US remains committed to Nato’s article 5, which says that an armed attack on any Nato country should be considered an attack on all of them, triggering a collective response. He said President Trump confirmed this at his press conference with Keir Starmer on Thursday.