| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
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totally dismantle it. | |
| And as we approach the 50th anniversary of Ambassador Moynihan's historic opposition to the United Nations' disgraceful Zionism is Racism resolution, the time has come to bring about needed change. | ||
| We must redirect the course of history away from the anti-Semitism and the anti-Israel bias that Ambassador Moynihan described as, quote, a great evil that has been loosed upon the world. | ||
| Let me be clear. | ||
| Everyday Americans understand the need to support Israel's fight, and that the same pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizers who chant death to Israel also chant death to America. | ||
| These terrorists want to topple Israel, topple the US, and we must never yield. | ||
| We'll have Representative Stephaniek's full remarks later in our schedule. | ||
| We'll leave it here, though, to go live to British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, speaking on the Russia-Ukraine war from the House of Commons. | ||
| Live coverage here on C-SPAN is just getting underway. | ||
| Just and lasting peace following Russia's vile invasion of Ukraine. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it begins in this House, where on Tuesday I announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War. | ||
| A recognition of the fact that once again we live in an era where peace in Europe depends upon strength and deterrence, but also a rediscovery of the old post-war argument long held on these benches that economic security is national security. | ||
| Because, Mr. Speaker, the demands we now have to make of Britain must come alongside a new foundation of security for working people. | ||
| The tough choices that we made last week are not done. | ||
| We must use the process of getting to 3% of our national income spent on defence to fundamentally rebuild British industry, use our investment in military spending to create new jobs and apprenticeships in every part of the country. | ||
| And that's why last night I announced a deal that perfectly symbolises the new era. | ||
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A partnership with Ukraine that allows them to use £1.6 billion of UK export finance to buy 5,000 air defence missiles manufactured in Belfast. | |
| Mr. Speaker, that means UK jobs, UK skills, UK finance pulling together for our national interests, putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position for peace and protecting innocent civilians from the terror of Russian drones. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, my efforts continued on Thursday when I met President Trump in the White House to strengthen our relationship with America. | ||
| Now, what happened in his subsequent meeting with President Zelensky is something nobody in this House wants to see. | ||
| But I do want to be crystal clear. | ||
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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. | ||
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And we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic. | |
| In fact, Mr. Speaker, if anything, the past week has shown that that idea is totally unserious. | ||
| Because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking aside, this week has shown with total clarity that the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine. | ||
| So I welcome the opportunity for a new economic deal with the US, confirmed by the President last week, because it's an opportunity I'm determined to pursue. | ||
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I welcome the positive discussions we had on European security, including his clear support for Article 5 of NATO. | |
| I welcome the understanding from our dialogue that our two nations will work together on security arrangements for a lasting peace in Ukraine. | ||
| I also welcome the President's continued commitment to that peace, which nobody in this House should doubt for a second is sincere. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, I now turn to the events of this weekend and the moving scenes that greeted President Zelensky as he arrived in London on Saturday. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, 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. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we resolved together to move forward the strong strong cause of just and lasting peace in Ukraine. | ||
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And then on Sunday, I hosted European leaders from across our continent equally committed to this cause, including President Macron, Prime Minister Maloney, the leaders of NATO, the European Commission and Council, and the Prime Minister of Canada, a vital ally of this country, the Commonwealth and Ukraine, responsible for training over 40,000 Ukrainian troops. | |
| I also had the privilege beforehand of speaking online to the leaders of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, each of whom, as close as they are to the front line with Russia, stressed the urgency of the moment. | ||
| And Mr. Speaker, it was a productive summit. | ||
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Together, we agreed a clear strategy that the United Kingdom, France, and our allies will work closely with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which we will then discuss directly with the United States. | |
| It's a plan that has four clear principles, which I'll now share in full with the House. | ||
| 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 defence, we're doubling down on military aid. | ||
| Already this year, we've taken our support to record levels. | ||
| But on Saturday, we also agreed a new £2.2 billion loan for Ukraine, backed not by the British taxpayer, but by the profits from frozen Russian assets. | ||
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Second, Mr. Speaker, 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. | ||
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Third, we agreed that in the event of a peace deal, we will continue to boost Ukraine's defences 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 a peace. | ||
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Mr. Speaker, after all, the Ukrainian position is completely understandable. | |
| For them, the war did not begin three years ago. | ||
| That was merely the latest and most brutal escalation. | ||
| They have signed agreements with Putin before. | ||
| They've experienced the nature of his diplomacy and the calibre of his word. | ||
| We cannot accept a weak deal like Mint again. | ||
| No, we must proceed with strength. | ||
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And that does now require urgently a coalition of the willing. | |
| Mr. Speaker, we agreed on Sunday that those willing to play a role in this will intensify planning now. | ||
| And as this House would expect, Britain will play a leading role with, if necessary and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent. | ||
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But to succeed, this effort must also have strong US backing. | |
| I want to assure this House I take none of this lightly. | ||
| I've visited British troops in Estonia, and no aspect of my role weighs more heavily than the deployment of British troops in the service of defence and security in Europe. | ||
| And yet I do feel very strongly that the future of Ukraine is vital for our national security. | ||
| Russia is a menace in our waters and skies. | ||
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They've launched cyber attacks on our NHS, assassination attempts in our streets. | |
| In this House, we stand by Ukraine because it's the right thing to do. | ||
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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 will only get worse. | ||
| And Putin's appetite for conflict and chaos will only grow. | ||
| So a strong peace, a just peace, a lasting peace, that has now to be our goal. | ||
| It is vital, it is in our interests, and its pursuit, Britain will lead from the front for the security of our continent, the security of our country, and the security of the British people. | ||
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We must now win the peace. | |
| And I commend this statement to the House. | ||
| I come to the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Bedrock. | ||
| Mr Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for advanced sight of his statement and also for our conversation earlier today. | ||
| The United Kingdom is a free, democratic, and sovereign country. | ||
| We recognise that Ukraine is fighting for her survival and fighting to have the same freedom, democracy, and sovereignty which all of us here enjoy. | ||
| That is why both the opposition and the government are fully committed to supporting Ukraine and President Zelensky. | ||
| I was also glad to see His Majesty the King welcome President Zelensky at Sandringham. | ||
| As I said at the weekend, President Zelensky is a hero. | ||
| He is a symbol of the bravery of the Ukrainian people. | ||
| There are, of course, many areas where the Prime Minister and I disagree, but now is the time for us to discuss where we do agree. | ||
| I welcome all of his actions this weekend to convene European leaders, as well as the focus on economic security using UK export finance to support British jobs. | ||
| As the Prime Minister knows, we welcomed the uplift in defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027. | ||
| We also support the use of foreign aid to achieve this. | ||
| We welcome a commitment to reach 3% in the years ahead, and we will support him in taking difficult spending decisions, including on welfare. | ||
| We will return to the details of how the government will fund this in the near future. | ||
| But for now, it is right that the Prime Minister is working with allies in Europe and with the United States to bring peace to Ukraine and not a surrender to Russia. | ||
| As part of this, the Prime Minister has suggested that British troops could be deployed in Ukraine. | ||
| There are obviously a range of possible options for what such a deployment could look like, and we are keen to work with the Government, but we will need details of any such plan. | ||
| This will be a difficult but significant step. | ||
| I know many in Parliament and across our country will be interested in what this entails, and I ask him to work with us so there can be effective scrutiny. | ||
| I also welcome the coalition of the willing to support Ukraine and agree that Europe must do the heavy lifting. | ||
| So, can I ask the Prime Minister to update us on what European and other allies are willing to offer towards this coalition? | ||
| Can I welcome the use of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine and ask the Prime Minister if he has plans to go further and use the frozen assets himself? | ||
| Can I ask him for an update on the government's sanctions on Russian-linked individuals and for confirmation that such sanctions would not be lifted in the event of a ceasefire? | ||
| Can I ask the Prime Minister to update us on the steps he and other allies are taking to ensure that Ukraine is at the negotiating table for any peace plan and what he thinks can be done to heal the rift with Washington? | ||
| As the Prime Minister referenced in his speech, the Minsk agreements of 2015 failed to stop Russian aggression and ultimately did not return Ukraine's territorial integrity. | ||
| His second principle is that any lasting peace guarantees the sovereignty of Ukraine. | ||
| So can I finally ask how the Prime Minister will work to ensure we avoid a repeat of the Minsk agreements and how we can ensure that any peace fully protects Ukrainian sovereignty. | ||
| At times like these, it is so important that we stand together to defend shared values and the fundamental basic principle that aggressors should not win. | ||
| The Prime Minister will have our support to do that and to ensure that we continue to uphold those values all of us in this Parliament hold dear. | ||
|
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Can I thank her for her message in our discussion this morning and can I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her support for the measures that we are taking? | |
| It matters across this House House that we are united on this issue. | ||
| It matters to the Ukrainians and to President Zelensky. | ||
| And I can tell you that he was moved by the reception that he got in our country on Saturday. | ||
| And I can tell you I felt very proud to be British on Saturday when our country spoke with one voice. | ||
| And she reflects that with the unity across the House. | ||
| I do thank her for it. | ||
| She asks about the details of any deployment. | ||
| We will, of course, put details before the House when we get to that stage, if we get to that stage. | ||
| And as I mentioned to her this morning in our phone call, I will make sure that she gets whatever briefings she needs to be able to look at the detail before it's put before the House so she's fully informed. | ||
| On the question of other allies, we had a long meeting yesterday with a number of allies. | ||
| My strong view is that we have to move forward, we have to lead from the front, and therefore we need a coalition of the willing, because otherwise we will move at the speed of the most reluctant, and that will be too slow. | ||
| A number of countries and allies indicated their support. | ||
| They will set that out in due course. | ||
| I won't pretend that every country is in the same place on this issue. | ||
| That is why I and others took the view that we should take a leading position and move forward. | ||
| But I will give further details as they become available. | ||
| On the question of the frozen assets themselves, obviously the proceeds, the profits, are being used in the way that the House understands, in accordance with the statement I just made. | ||
| On the assets themselves, it is a very complicated issue, not straightforward. | ||
| But I do think that we need to do and are doing more work to look at what are the possibilities at least along with other countries. | ||
| But I'm not going to pretend that this is simple or straightforward. | ||
| On the sanctions, we introduced the heaviest sanctions last week that we've put in place. | ||
| And she is quite right. | ||
| They must not be lifted just because there's a cessation in the fighting. | ||
| They must be kept in place as a vital part of our armoury, something which didn't happen with Minsk. | ||
| And she's quite right to say that we have to avoid the mistakes of the past, which is why a security guarantee is so important. | ||
| A guarantee that we should lead, but needs US backing if it's to act as a proper guarantee. | ||
| And of course, she's right to say Ukraine must be at the table in any discussions about the future of Ukraine. | ||
| And I think that's a common position across the House. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| The Foreign Affairs Like Committee, Emily Thornberry. | ||
| Dame Emily Thornberry. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. | ||
| We all watched with alarm and distress the scenes from the White House on Friday, but equally were, across the country, extremely grateful that we had a Prime Minister who had such a pitch-perfect response at the weekend. | ||
| And as he works towards a just peace for Ukraine, he has the support of the whole country in doing so. | ||
| But here is the question. | ||
| The Prime Minister said on Laura Koonsberg on Sunday that following the cuts to the aid budget, he would go through line by line to ensure that the priorities of Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza were all prioritised in a lasting peace. | ||
| The difficulty is that after refugee costs, admin costs, the department's commitments, and things to things like the World Bank and the UN are taken into account, it's hard to believe that there will be enough left in the budget to provide meaningful humanitarian support in these priority areas. | ||
| So does the Prime Minister understand the concern of so many that these cuts could in fact, in the long term, hobble the very leadership that the Prime Minister has shown this weekend and that he has finally given the world some hope? | ||
| Well, I thank her for her question, and it's a very important issue. | ||
| What I did last week was to announce the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, and the circumstances and the context require it. | ||
| That decision had to be made, and I was determined that it would be fully funded so the House could see where the money would come from. | ||
| On the question of overseas aid, I am committed to it. | ||
| What we will now do is go through line by line the funding and look at our priorities. | ||
| Of course, Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza are right up there in our priorities. | ||
| But I also want to work with others and across the House, if we can, at other ways of raising money and finance for development and aid overseas. | ||
| I saw the President of the World Bank on Friday to have that very discussion and want to have that. | ||
| I mentioned it in my discussions with other countries this weekend, many of whom want to join in attempts to find other ways to leverage money, particularly from the private sector, where states can't do it in the way they might want to just at the moment. | ||
| And that's the approach that we will take. | ||
|
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Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed David. | |
| Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement. | ||
| We were all horrified by Friday's scenes in the Oval Office. | ||
| President Trump's attack on the brave and dignified President Zelensky left everyone shocked and appalled, except it seems the Honourable Member for Clacton. | ||
| Nobody else watching those scenes could fail to understand that we've entered a new era, one where the United States prefers to align itself with tyrants like Putin rather than its democratic partners. | ||
| On these benches, we've supported the Prime Minister's actions and leadership. | ||
| Britain leading the world, as we have so many times in the past, bringing together Europe and Canada in London to work towards a just peace that guarantees Ukraine's sovereignty and security. | ||
| But, Mr. Speaker, we need to reduce our dependency on the United States. | ||
|
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Because I say with deep regret, I fear that President Trump is not a reliable ally with respect to Russia. | |
| With that regard, did the Prime Minister discuss with our European allies our proposals for a new rearmament bank and for seizing the tens of billions of pounds worth of Russian assets to support Ukraine? | ||
| And in his conversations with the Canadian Prime Minister, was he clear that we stand with our Commonwealth ally in the face of President Trump's threats? | ||
| Mr. Speaker, many of us were confused by Lord Mandelson's comments yesterday. | ||
| So, can the Prime Minister confirm that they do not represent government policy? | ||
| And does he agree that the British ambassador should not be freelancing on American TV? | ||
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will have our support if the UK continues to lead with our European and Commonwealth allies for Ukraine's defence and our collective security. | |
| I thank him for his question. | ||
| He talks about the scene on Friday afternoon. | ||
| Nobody wants to see that. | ||
| My response was to recognise the urgency of the need to repair the breach, which is why I spoke to President Trump and President Zelensky on Friday night and again on Saturday night and are continuing in that work. | ||
| Because for me, the single most important thing is lasting peace in Europe and Ukraine, and nothing is going to deter me from that or lose my focus on that. | ||
| On the dependency on the US, I don't agree with him. | ||
| The US and the UK have the closest of relationships. | ||
| Our defence, our security, our intelligence are completely intertwined. | ||
| No two countries are as close as our two countries. | ||
| And it'd be a huge mistake at a time like this to suggest that any weakening of that link is the way forward for security and defence in Europe. | ||
| On the question of a rearmament bank, yes, I do think we should continue discussions with others as to what the possibilities could be. | ||
| And that formed some of the discussion yesterday with our allies. | ||
| Again, on assets, he knows the situation is complicated, but there are ongoing discussions. | ||
| I spoke at length with the Canadian Prime Minister yesterday because we had a bilateral meeting as well as the meeting with other colleagues in which I was able to assure him of our strong support for Canada, a close ally of ours, a strong supporter of Ukraine. | ||
| And Canada have led the way on the training that's been so vital to Ukraine. | ||
| So they were very welcome at the table yesterday. | ||
| In relation to the ambassador's comments, look, the plan is clear. | ||
| We're working, particularly with the French. | ||
| I've had extensive conversations with President Macron over the last week, intensively over the weekend, talking to Ukraine as well. | ||
| Those are going on at the moment, and the intention is to then have discussions with the United States in relation to that plan. | ||
| So as soon as the details are available, I'll share them with the House, but they are still being worked on at the moment. | ||
| There's no guarantee of success. | ||
| But I'm not going to let up until we have done everything we can to ensure peace in Europe and peace for Ukraine. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I welcome the Prime Minister's statement and the warmth of his welcome and hugs for President Zelensky and his show of leadership on defence and security matters in our continent as he hosted his Sunday summit of leaders in London. | ||
| Can the Prime Minister, my Right Honourable Friend, assure the House that in our pursuit for a just, lasting peace, he will do his level best to convince President Trump to provide security guarantees for Ukraine and that he will convince those NATO allies not spending 2% on defence to step up to the plate and do much more? | ||
| Well on both fronts. | ||
| Firstly, yes, of course I'm talking to President Trump about security guarantees. | ||
| That formed a large part of our discussion on Thursday and our subsequent discussions. | ||
| I think it is right that Europe does the forward leaning on this, that we have to do more on security guarantees, but it does need a US backing to those guarantees. | ||
| And that is the very discussion that I'm having. | ||
| On the question of spending, I think that across Europe in this era we now have to step up on capability, coordination and on spending, and that did form part of our discussions yesterday. | ||
| James Cleberley. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I find myself in the strange and rather uncomfortable position of very much agreeing with the Prime Minister on everything he has said today. | ||
| And whilst I often take great delight in criticism of the government, I think this weekend he has not really put a foot wrong. | ||
| But he does need to go further. | ||
| The small increase in defence spending that he announced was welcome, but fundamentally we do need a gear shift on this. | ||
| I would echo the points made by my Right Honourable Friend, the Leader of the Opposition, that when, and it will be when not if he has to make some really difficult decisions about balancing defence spending against domestic expenditure, that we will not try and play politics, that we will support him, because we need to send a message now to our friends in Ukraine and to potential aggressors around the world that we take our defence, the defence of our values and the defence of our friends, seriously. | ||
| Well, I thank him for the unity across the House, and he's absolutely right. | ||
| It sends a message to those who want to challenge our values when they see this House united on either Ukraine or on defence spending. | ||
| And we have to face this era with confidence and with unity across this House wherever we can. | ||
| I'd invite him. | ||
| It's been good to have him agreeing with me. | ||
| We should do this more often. | ||
| Unexilable. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I'd first of all like to thank the Prime Minister for the leadership he's shown pulling together all our allies yesterday in London and acknowledging the bravery and sacrifice of the people of Ukraine. | ||
| I was in Ukraine last week. | ||
| I met with the mayor of Kharkiv, a frontline city of two million people undergoing daily attacks and blackouts from Russian forces. | ||
| He told me that they had a power project that had been cancelled at short notice, funded by USAID, generating 11.2 megawatts, which would shore up their energy pipeline. | ||
| Where others have stepped back, will we step forward and support projects like that, either from Russian assets or our own aid budget? | ||
| Well, the whole power supply is hugely important in Ukraine. | ||
| Let's face it, power and energy has been weaponised by Putin. | ||
| That is why he's attacking the power supplies to communities across Ukraine. | ||
| And of course, we will work with them to ensure they have the security and the power supplies that they need as we go forward. | ||
| Fellow of the House, Edward Lee. | ||
| Our enemies should know that our Prime Minister has 100% support from us. | ||
| I noticed in Moscow they're referring to the small size of the British Army. | ||
| Perhaps the Prime Minister could remind them of what the Kaiser said in 1914 about the contemptible little British Army. | ||
| And will he tell President Putin and other torrents that our army, the most professional in the world, is quite capable of giving as good as it gets. | ||
| But to continue the historical illusion, as in 1939, if we do stand up for the mark with the French, it's best to have a security guarantee from the Americans. | ||
| Well, I thank him for his unity because that is really important. | ||
| And I think I speak for the whole House in saying we're very proud of our armed forces in everything that they do. | ||
| They are at the leading edge. | ||
| They're playing a key part in Ukraine and they will continue to play a key part in the security and defence of Europe. | ||
| Dr. Rosanna Alankar. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Can I congratulate the Prime Minister on bringing European leaders together at the weekend and for setting the record straight with JD Barnes on the issue of free speech? | ||
| President Zelensky is resilient and brave, just like the nation that he represents. | ||
| And in the second week of the war, when I went to Ukraine with my medical team, we could see firsthand that there was absolutely nothing that the Russians will not do. | ||
| So can the Prime Minister promise that our support will not waver and he will continue working closely with our European allies to make sure that we bring about peace in Ukraine? | ||
| I can give her that assurance. | ||
| We will not waver. | ||
| will work with our allies. | ||
| Madera Wilson. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. | ||
| I welcome the Prime Minister's statement and his unequivocal support of the United Kingdom for President Zelensky and Ukraine. | ||
| But in view of his cuts to the aid budget, but also with the eyes of the world focused on Zelensky, Ukraine and Russia, could he please reassure the House that he will not forget about the Middle East, and in particular the decision by Netanyahu's government to block aid to Israel, and what representations is he making on behalf of the government to reverse that? | ||
| It's a breach of international law. | ||
| Well, let me be really clear. | ||
|
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The decision to block aid into Gaza is completely wrong and should not be supported in this House. | |
| On the contrary, what we need is more aid going into Gaza, desperately needed aid, at speed and at volume. | ||
| We're making those representations. | ||
| Can I congratulate the Prime Minister on his strong leadership in his response to the fast-moving events of the weekend and ask whether or not he will recommit to increasing international aid spending to 0.7% when the fiscal circumstances allow? | ||
| Yes, I do want to restore aid and development funding as soon as fiscal events allow. | ||
| It's a principle I believe in. | ||
| I'm proud of what we've done. | ||
| In the meantime, I want to explore with others what other levers we can have to increase aid and development without necessarily increasing the spend within the government budget. | ||
| Speaker, there are many issues on which the Prime Minister and I will passionately disagree, but when it comes to the security of Ukraine and support for President Zelensky, we are, of course, united. | ||
| And I too would wish to commend the Prime Minister on his announcement yesterday and indeed his leadership in the summit with our European allies and indeed our Canadian allies too. | ||
| Unfortunately, this afternoon it's been reported that President Trump is set to meet with American aides to discuss withdrawing military aid to Ukraine. | ||
| Are these reports something that the Prime Minister recognises? | ||
| And if so, what impact will that have upon the timetable he and President Macron are currently working to? | ||
| I haven't seen reports of the US withdrawing support for Ukraine, and as I understand, that is not their position. | ||
| I thank him for his support on this issue, although I was somewhat concerned that the SNP is continuing its suggestion that now is the time to abandon the nuclear deterrent. | ||
| If ever there was a time to reaffirm support for the nuclear terror, it is now. | ||
| We mustn't reduce our security and defence. | ||
| I think it is a completely wrong-headed decision. | ||
|
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They should reconsider. | |
| Again, the actions of the Prime Minister this week demonstrated why UK leadership in defence and security on Ukraine is crucial. | ||
| I also agree with the Prime Minister that it's important to strengthen our relationship with the US. | ||
| But can I ask him in the coming months, will he consider whether we should be bringing forward a proposal to hit 3% spend before the next election? | ||
| We need to do what it takes. | ||
| I said I had our position last week, which is 2.5 by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament as fiscal circumstances allow. | ||
| Andrew Mitchell. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should surely be commended both for the meetings he held in the White House last week and for the effective leadership which he has shown over the weekend. | ||
| Will he bear in mind, as he seeks to forge this coalition of the willing with urgency and vigour, that the GDP of Russia is some $2 trillion. | ||
| The GDP of the six European members of NATO most committed is more than seven times that at $15 trillion. | ||
| And that should surely add to the effectiveness of the deterrent and the work that he's now doing with European allies. | ||
| I thank him for raising this point. | ||
|
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We mustn't lose sight of the fact that the Russian economy is being damaged by the measures that we are collectively taking, particularly on sanctions. | |
| And we should have self-confidence in the ability of Europe to pull together, whether that's on military issues, whether that's on finance issues, for the collective security and defence of Europe. | ||
| And that is why I think it's time. | ||
| We've said it many times that Europe needs to step up. | ||
| Now is the time to step up. | ||
| Now is the time to lead. | ||
| And that's why I was pleased that we moved things on a little bit in the last few days in that regard. | ||
| Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| And I thank the Prime Minister for his statement today and his continued strong leadership. | ||
| In contributing troops, drones and other munitions, Russia's allies remain active participants in Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. | ||
| Can the Prime Minister please assure the House that alongside our allies, Russia's strategic partners are being closely monitored during ongoing peace efforts? | ||
| She's absolutely right, and we continue to do that. | ||
| We need to bear down on Russia and all of those that support Russia in this illegal war. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| We welcome the increase in defence spending, but when I served, there were over 100,000 troops, and today there's just over 74,000. | ||
| It's essential that we reverse the Conservatives' irresponsible 10,000 troop cuts. | ||
| Will the Prime Minister commit to reversing this devastating cut so that the UK can credibly support collective European security in the absence of US support? | ||
| Firstly, we're going through a strategic review of our capability, gauging against our challenge, and obviously I'll put the results of that before the House in due course. | ||
| I would just caution against perhaps the suggestion, if I got it right in the second hand of her question, that somehow we should take this as a moment to go in alone without the US. | ||
| I fundamentally disagree with that. | ||
| I think it'd be the wrong. | ||
| We've never chosen that course in our history. | ||
| We shouldn't choose it now. | ||
| George Fentonland. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I thank the Prime Minister for his statement today and his diplomatic efforts to restore our international reputation since taking office. | ||
| But can my honourable friend confirm the basic principle that no decision can be made about the future of Ukraine without their elected leadership in negotiations and that any ceasefire must be added to by Russian aggressors and not just the Ukrainians? | ||
| I agree on both propositions. | ||
| Ukraine needs to be at the table. | ||
| There have to be security guarantees because we know from history that Putin does not honour agreements that don't have security guarantees. | ||
| That's precisely why we need one. | ||
| Tom Tugenda. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| May I join those echoing the call to thank the Prime Minister for his leadership over these recent days. | ||
| He has definitely spoken for Britain when he's spoken on the world stage. | ||
| May I ask him to join me in thanking those parliamentary staffers who, while he was doing that, were driving aid to Ukraine. | ||
| May I ask him, he's brought together, quite rightly, a coalition of European and NATO partners. | ||
| Is he working on those further afield? | ||
| As he knows very well, Australia has already donated bushmasters and many are concerned about Iran's support for the Russians through their Shaheed drone programme. | ||
| Is he reaching out to the Middle Eastern allies as well? | ||
| Can I first thank the parliamentary staffers who've done such significant and important work on his important question about reaching out beyond Europe? | ||
| I agree with him. | ||
| We are doing that. | ||
| This needs to be as broad a coalition as we can put together with different capabilities, each country making whichever contribution is the most significant from their point of view. | ||
| I thank him for his support and over the weekend. | ||
| The Prime Minister deserves plaudits for the skilful way in which he has handled his visit to Washington last week, as he does for the resolve that he's shown to stand against Russia's illegal invasion of the sovereign state of Ukraine. | ||
| Surely, though, this was a moment to accept that the post-war international settlement has now been fractured and that the necessary rise in defence spending should be achieved by changing the fiscal rules, not by cuts to international aid, which will only see more people slain by famine, drought, disaster, and war. | ||
| The reason that we will not change the fiscal rules is that we need economic stability. | ||
| We experienced economic instability only a few years ago under Liz Truss. | ||
| The loss to our aid budget in all budgets would be far more profound if we go back to instability, and I'm not prepared to do it. | ||
| Angel Farage. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| It may be a great irony that a Romaina Prime Minister used Brexit freedoms as effectively as he did yesterday. | ||
| Indeed, as number 10 briefed, we are now in a unique position compared to the rest of Europe, and yesterday was a triumph. | ||
| I also applaud him making such positive words about President Trump and our relationship with America, even if nobody behind him agrees. | ||
| But here's the key. | ||
| President Zelensky has now accepted that he's going to sign the minerals agreement with America. | ||
| And America is going to put in $100 billion or whatever it is, and thousands of Americans will be in Ukraine. | ||
| Is that of itself enough of a security guarantee? | ||
| No. | ||
| Or does it mean that we need to send British troops? | ||
| And if we do, given the size of our army, how many? | ||
| The mineral deal is not enough on its own. | ||
| But can I just remind him, Russia is the aggressor. | ||
| Zelensky is a war leader whose country has been invaded. | ||
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And we should all be supporting him and not forwarding over Putin. | |
| Joanna Baxter. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| I welcome the Prime Minister's statement and can I congratulate him on the excellent leadership he's shown on the international stage. | ||
| Does my right-hon friend agree with me that for any lasting peace to be achieved in Ukraine, Russia must return the 19,546 children that they have stolen from Ukraine? | ||
| I thank you for raising this issue because this is absolutely crucial. | ||
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It's a moral outrage that these Children have been taken, and of course, we must ensure their safe return. | |
| That has to be part of any discussion, which is quite right to raise it. | ||
| We should do so more often. | ||
| Sir Roger Gael. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has quite rightly and properly shown her support for the Prime Minister's position. | ||
| I hope that he'll take comfort from the fact that he has the support of at least these backbenches as well. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, those of us who have had, in my case, through the Council of Europe dealings with the Russians know only too well that this administration, Putin's administration, cannot be trusted. | ||
| And that security guarantees, therefore, are absolutely vital if we are to succeed in a peace agreement and not a surrender. | ||
| A surrender would lead to the inevitable further extent of activities in Georgia and Moldova and then possibly in the Baltic states as well. | ||
| Is that not right? | ||
| I agree with him completely. | ||
| We know Putin's ambitions. | ||
| We know that he's not a man to keep his word. | ||
| We absolutely have to guard against those risks, which is why security guarantees have to go in in relation to any deal that must be done. | ||
| And we must be vigilant on all fronts in relation to Putin, because, as we know from our history, instability in Europe inevitably washes up on our shores. | ||
| This is about our national security just as much as it's about the sovereignty of Ukraine. | ||
| Oliver Ryle. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Can I praise in the strongest possible terms the Prime Minister's strong and pitch-perfect leadership, particularly when it's come to the defence budget increase and his statesmanship through this difficult time? | ||
| He's spoken for the nation and indeed been the leader of the free world this past few days. | ||
| While this negotiation is ongoing and Ukraine is still being bombarded, will he make sure that our partnership with Ukraine goes deeper, that they still get the drones, the planes, the arms that they need to make sure they can stay at the table while he's making his deal? | ||
| He makes a very good point, which is peace through strength. | ||
| It is vitally important that Ukraine is put in the strongest possible position to fight on if necessary. | ||
| There may not be a deal, or to be in the strongest position to negotiate if there are negotiations. | ||
| On both fronts, we mustn't let up. | ||
| On the contrary, we should double down and provide more support. | ||
| Samuel Wilson. | ||
| Speaker, on behalf of my party, can I also congratulate the Prime Minister on the work that he has done this week, both in America and here in the United Kingdom? | ||
| He has made a commitment to putting support to Ukraine for any Defend Any Peace Agreement. | ||
| But given the state of our armed forces and the overstretched nature of those forces, how sure is he that he can deliver on that commitment? | ||
| And does he not agree that there needs to be a continued role for America in the defence of democracy against terrorising tyrants? | ||
| I thank him for his question and for his support. | ||
| I do have confidence that we have the necessary capability. | ||
| I don't take these considerations lightly. | ||
| He's absolutely right that we should do this in conjunction with the US, working in the way that we have for many decades now, that has ensured peace here and in Europe. | ||
| We should continue to work in that way. | ||
| I'd like to thank the Prime Minister's careful and considerate leadership this weekend. | ||
| Does he agree with me that Putin will feast on Western division and the only people smiling on Saturday were people in Moscow, Tehran and Tbilisi? | ||
| And that at this delicate moment, it is vitally important that every corner of this House continues to show the united front that the country expects and the house has shown over the last three years. | ||
| I agree with him. | ||
| Putin does feast on division. | ||
| And when I was Leader of the Opposition, amongst the reasons I supported the then government was because Putin would have been the only winner if there was division in this House. | ||
| And that's why I commend the Leader of the Opposition, the party opposite, for continuing that unity, because it demonstrates to Putin that we're a united House on this issue. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, can I just point out that President JD Vance seems to be in favour of free speech but not free nations? | ||
| And isn't it don't we also have to point out what others are saying is there is no history of Vladimir Putin proving a trustworthy treaty maker and that there can be no security, there is no path to a peace in Ukraine that is secure without the engagement of the Americans, the failure of their support risking a wider war in Europe that would inevitably draw them in. | ||
| Can we quietly and diplomatically keep making those points to the White House so that we have a chance of peace in our continent? | ||
| Well, he's quite right. | ||
| The history is that Putin is untrustworthy. | ||
| That is why Ukrainians are so concerned that there should be a security guarantee in relation to any deal. | ||
| They've been here before. | ||
| They've seen the credibility of his word. | ||
| They know he's untrustworthy. | ||
| That is why they're so concerned. | ||
| We share their concern. | ||
| We're working with them. | ||
| He's quite right that we need the US to be working alongside us and with us in the way we have done for decades to ensure the security and defence of Europe. | ||
| And I will continue to ensure I can do everything I can to ensure that that arrangement that has proved so successful, the alliance that is NATO, the most successful, important alliance we've ever had, continues and goes from strength to strength. | ||
| Carbon Bell. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| The Prime Minister has our gratitude for steering a very difficult path over recent days, and I welcome his statement earlier. | ||
| Defence is a vehicle for social mobility, career security, and opportunity for our young people, as it has been for me. | ||
| And Defence has deep historical links with Londoners, the gunners, Hammers, and Leyton-Oriens. | ||
| But many Londoners are not actively engaged by defence at present. | ||
| Would the Prime Minister agree with me that we must engage every part of our country, not only with the serious challenge we face, but with the opportunities too? | ||
| I do think this needs to be a whole nation approach, including young people. | ||
| This morning, we had a number of small businesses in the defence sector with apprentices, with young people, who explained to me why they wanted to work in the defence sector. | ||
| And that was not only the secure, well-paid, skilled job that they would get, but also the pride that they would feel in working in defence of security of their country. | ||
| Following that question before me, actually, the opportunities are not just for defence, they're also for the NHS. | ||
| I went in January, in the week of Trump's inauguration, cross-party to visit Ukraine so that we could offer our support. | ||
| And while there, I had the privilege of meeting veterans, many of whom had lost limbs, had world-leading prosthetics. | ||
| And the fact is, the Ukrainians are now world-leading in these matters. | ||
| So the 100-year partnership exists. | ||
| What are we doing in the UK so that we can supercharge not just defence but also rehabilitation? | ||
| It helps us, not just them. | ||
| Can I thank her for raising this? | ||
| When I went to Kiev just the other week, there were many moving aspects. | ||
| But one was the NHS or some of our NHS workers in a Burns unit hospital in Kyiv, where I met some that had returned from the front line with the most appalling burns, very difficult to see and watch and look at, and including civilians who got caught up in blasts. | ||
| And I, for one, was very proud that we had NHS workers there with the workers, the health workers in Ukraine, working together to do the very best they could for those in that Burns unit. | ||
| And that's a small example of what she speaks of. | ||
| Richard Bergham. | ||
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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | |
| I very much welcome the growing push from numerous countries for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. | ||
| And that must be a just peace. | ||
| Too many lives have already been lost following Putin's illegal and brutal invasion. | ||
| But I am alarmed by the issue of deploying British troops on the ground in Ukraine and British military planes in the skies over Ukraine, because there's no getting away from the fact that it would risk our country coming to a direct military conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia. | ||
| The consequences to millions of people in our country and across Europe of such war and nuclear conflict really don't bear thinking about. | ||
| So, given the enormity of such a decision, will the Prime Minister commit to ensuring a vote in the House of Commons before any such deployment, in keeping with the important principles of our parliamentary democracy? | ||
| The risk to our country is if we do not fight for the peace. | ||
| My position on sustained deployment of our troops is that this House would, of course, want to discuss that and vote on that, but we're nowhere near that stage at the moment. | ||
| Sir Julian Lewis. | ||
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Thank you. | |
| Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's very capable defence ministerial team will have told him that even were he to be able to accelerate investment and expenditure on defence more rapidly than has already been outlined, there would be a considerable time lag, given the complexity of modern equipment, before industrial output could be ramped up. | ||
| So, when he talks about, as he did, intensifying planning, will he include the creation of a defence industrial expansion unit in the machinery that he's setting up now so that as resources become available, the output of military equipment can be at the fastest possible rate? | ||
| I thank him for his question. | ||
| We already have a unit working on rapid deployment and procurement in relation to Ukraine, and of course, that and other aspects need to be ramped up. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| The Prime Minister has shown an unwavering commitment to Ukraine this weekend, and I stand with him in that. | ||
| Will the Prime Minister reiterate this government's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and our commitment to work with our allies both in the US and Europe so that we are in the best position possible to work towards a lasting peace? | ||
| Well, I thank her for her question, and I agree with the sentiment we will work with our allies and with the US towards the security and defence of Europe. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| Can I thank the Prime Minister for his statement, but also for the hard yards that he is putting in at the moment for our national security? | ||
| May I suggest another angle that the House would appreciate an update on? | ||
| And that is last year the Treasury Committee did an inquiry into Russian sanctions. | ||
| We received evidence that Russian hydrocarbons are still ending up in the UK. | ||
| So could he explore the idea of improving our national security by making sure that the oil and gas that we consume in this country comes predominantly from this country? | ||
| She's right, and our energy independence is hugely important. | ||
| I think the last three years have shown that we're far too exposed. | ||
| And on the question of the sanctions and hydrocarbons, obviously we'll look closely at it. | ||
| Louise Jones. | ||
| The beautiful weather at the weekend brought with it the promise of spring and hope. | ||
| I hope the PM got at least two minutes outside to enjoy it. | ||
| But I'm afraid the same weather in Ukraine would be greeted with dread by the soldiers on the front line who know that the improving weather will bring an intensification of war. | ||
| Will the Prime Minister commit to ensure that the SDR takes into account his commitments so that we can ensure that there is an excellent security guarantee that ensures that Ukraine can once again greet the spring with hope? | ||
| Well, she's right about the impact of the weather on the conflict in Ukraine. | ||
| I have to say, I'm always struck by the resilience of the Ukrainians, both on the front line but within their civilian population after three years of long conflict. | ||
| Their resilience is humbling. | ||
| Adrian Ramsey. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| On behalf of the Green Party, can I welcome the Prime Minister's strong support for Ukraine, his work for peace, and his commitment that there should be no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine? | ||
| But given the scenes that we saw in the Oval Office on Friday, which people across the country will be aghast at, given the bullying tactics of President Trump and the fact that Trump clearly views this as a business opportunity, how will the Prime Minister ensure that the interests of Ukraine remain front and centre of the peace deals? | ||
| By picking up the phones of President Trump and President Zelensky and making sure that we can focus on what matters most, which is lasting peace in Ukraine. | ||
| The Prime Minister rightly reaffirms our commitment to our national security. | ||
| And while it is regrettable that the foreign aid and the soft power that goes with it will for a time being see a reduction, does the Prime Minister agree that without the necessary hard power to back what we say on the world stage, the impact of our international aid would be diminished in any case? | ||
| And can he outline how increased investment in defence strengthens both our armed forces and our ability to support Ukraine effectively? | ||
| Well I agree with her on the point she makes, in particular our ability to support Ukraine in a number of different ways, but it is important that we take these steps. | ||
| Jeremy Hunt. | ||
| Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| I also strongly support the considered approach the Prime Minister is taking to dealing with a powerful US President with whom we might not always agree but with whom we can and must work very closely. | ||
| Does he agree that one of the best ways we could persuade the US that any security backstop is temporary is not just for us to ramp up defence spending but for European NATO countries to agree to a new 3% target within a specified time period, a new target that would show him that it wouldn't be forever and has he had any discussions with Secretary General Rutter along those lines? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Well can I thank him for his support? | ||
| I really do appreciate it. | ||
| On the question of European defence spending, yes, we do need to ramp up, and that is the discussion that's going on at the moment. | ||
| I am in near constant discussion with Mark Rutter at NATO on this issue and many others, as he will appreciate over the last few days. | ||
| Jonathan Brash. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| Can I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership over the last week? | ||
| Europe is more united thanks to his actions. | ||
| Our ties with the United States deepened as a result of his actions, and critically, Ukraine is better supported as a result of his actions. | ||
| Our nation walks taller this week thanks to what the Prime Minister has done in the last week. | ||
| Does he agree with me that as part of our ramping up of defence spending, we have to look at defence procurement so that if our brave men and women do find themselves on the ground in Ukraine, they have the equipment and the support they need to do their job? | ||
| We do have to ramp up and improve our procurement because we have to ensure that as we increase defence spending we get absolute value for money and we get the best capability for the money that we are spending and that means being much much clearer and tighter on our procurement. | ||
| Three years ago the sale of Chelsea Football Club realised £2.5 billion which was to be used for the benefit of Ukraine. | ||
| But today that money remains frozen and as Lyra Nightingale of Redress was saying this morning there is a total lack of transparency about who has it and when it is going to be released. | ||
| So can the Prime Minister tell the House when that money will be released for the purpose that it was intended, the people of Ukraine? | ||
| Well the whole issue of assets and frozen assets is something that is on the one hand complicated, but I agree with the sentiment across the House that it's time to look at what options might be available. | ||
| I don't think we should do that on our own. | ||
| I think that needs to be done in conjunction with other countries, but it is fiendishly complicated, which is why it hasn't been done so far. | ||
| Gordon McKay. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Not for a long time has the British Prime Minister been so important on the world stage and the Prime Minister rightly deserves the support of the whole House for that. | ||
| Now to protect our security we've got to make use of our incredible technology but often government procurement doesn't work for rapidly growing start-ups. | ||
| So can the Prime Minister tell me will the Defence Industrial Review look at how we improve procurement so that we can make our technological advantage count? | ||
| Yes we will and today we announced a new unit and targets for small and medium enterprises and I was very pleased to be able to welcome some of them to Downish Street early on today. | ||
| Andrew Murrison. | ||
| Madam Deputy Speaker, I have the honour and privilege of representing a very large number of servicemen and service women and their families and they will be looking at this very anxiously indeed. | ||
| Whilst they always stand ready to do their duty, would the Prime Minister agree with me that it would be utter folly if the United Kingdom or France or Norway or Canada sent their sons and daughters into harm's way without all necessary security guarantees from the United States? | ||
| I do agree with him, and that's why I'm working so hard on security guarantees that are worthy of the name, that is, forward-leaning European element, but with a US backstop, US backing, which is vital if it's to act as a guarantee. | ||
| And of course, that's uppermost in my mind. | ||
| Greg O'Poynton. | ||
| Madam Deputy Speaker, I'd like to thank the Prime Minister for his statement and the leadership he's showing at this moment of uncertainty. | ||
| I think the quality of the contributions from right across the House today is on this parliament and this country rising to meet the moment. | ||
| That's why it was so disappointing, but perhaps not surprising. | ||
| The Westminster leader of the SNP chose this weekend to make such juvenile and childish statements. | ||
| Does he agree with me that the SNP's leaders duly ramp up to social media or his party's fundamentally unserious approach to our nuclear defence and deterrent shows that SNP cannot be trusted on the serious matter of the nation's defence? | ||
| Different people will respond in different ways. | ||
| Some will take to the keyboard as warriors. | ||
| I picked up the phone to world leaders to try and resolve the situation. | ||
| Ms. Avil Roberts, working together with our European partners is essential for security, stability and peace. | ||
| Plaikamu commend diplomatic initiatives over the weekend. | ||
| Boosting defence spending shouldn't be at the expense of international aid or public services starved of resources. | ||
| The Prime Minister talks of Tory fiscal failures, but protecting peace now calls for a bolder vision. | ||
| Under what circumstances would he commit to look again at the fiscal rules to ensure that the UK can responsibly invest in defence, humanitarian commitments and public services? | ||
| I thank her for her question. | ||
| I do understand her concern. | ||
| As I explained to the House last week, this was not a decision I wanted to take, but the defence and security of Europe required us to take the decision on defence. | ||
| On the fiscal rules, I do think economic stability is vitally important. | ||
| If we lose that, we will lose far more out of all our budgets. | ||
| But I would and will work across the House on whatever ways we can to increase development aid, notwithstanding the budgetary constraints. | ||
| That's why I spoke to the President of the World Bank on Friday to have that very discussion. | ||
| I think there's discussions to be had with other countries, with other institutions, and actually innovation and discussion across the House would be a valuable part of that exercise because the principle behind her question is the right one, which is that we must support international development and aid. | ||
| Tulip Siddique. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| My constituency of Hampstead and Highgate has welcomed hundreds of Ukrainian refugees into their community, and I'd like to pass on their thanks to the Prime Minister for the strong leadership that he's shown over the last few weeks. | ||
| The majority of these Ukrainians want to go back to their houses when it's safe to do so in their country, but a small minority of young Ukrainian refugees have approached me to say that they've laid down roots here, built careers here, and started relationships here, but have no route to settle status. | ||
| So, could I ask the Prime Minister what consideration he's given to the lives of these young Ukrainians who want to make London their permanent home? | ||
| Well, firstly, can I, as my neighbour MP, I remember together we saw some of the first Ukrainian refugees to arrive into her constituency at the very early days. | ||
| Obviously, we need to take this step by step, dealing with the conflict that it is. | ||
| Many will want to return, some may not, but we're not, unfortunately, the happy place where those that want to return can return. | ||
| And that's got to be the first priority. | ||
| Sir Ian Duncan-Smith. | ||
| Deputy Speaker, can I obviously, like my Right Honourable Friend and many others, congratulate the Prime Minister on his decision-making over the last few days and keeping his calm when others were losing theirs. | ||
| Most importantly, I think he followed the simple principle that when the UK and the USA are together, the world is a safer place. | ||
| And those who cry for it to be split are mad. | ||
| It's a similar manner. | ||
| Can I also say to him, when he's talking to the American President, could he possibly just raise as a nudge why Ukraine is important on a wider scale? | ||
| We know now that as part of the deal with North Korea, the Russians have been handing sub-sea ballistic missile technology, very advanced, to the North Koreans. | ||
| That will bring the whole of the United States within the target area for missiles. | ||
| Reminding him that might say this is important. | ||
| And finally, I simply say to him on this one point: the coalition of the willing, no matter how big it is or how powerful, cannot succeed if Russia's demand for the complete demilitarisation of the Ukrainian forces exists. | ||
| They must be allowed to stand with their arms in case this breaks down again. | ||
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On the North Korean element, this is a significant development and it expands the threat and the risk. | |
| We all need to see it in those terms. | ||
| On the question of Ukraine's sovereignty, sovereignty and security of Ukraine has to be at the heart of that. | ||
| And part of sovereignty is deciding for yourself what your defence capability is. | ||
| And we mustn't lose sight of that because security guarantee is not just what the Europeans or the US do, it also Ukraine's ability to defend herself as a sovereign country. | ||
| She should be able to do so. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| The Prime Minister was right to say in his statement that economic security is national security. | ||
| The same is true of energy security, as we see in the way the Clean Power Plan is set up. | ||
| So can I encourage my Right Honourable friend to use the success we have in this country in developing alternative energy technology to support Ukraine in giving its energy and national security while we do the same here? | ||
| Energy security in Ukraine is hugely important. | ||
| It's being attacked every day. | ||
| And that is why it's so vitally important that we help Ukraine defend its own energy arrangements but also work to a lasting peace which allows them to prosper and thrive in the way that we all want in Ukraine. | ||
| Vicky Slade. | ||
| Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| I welcome the government's commitment to increasing defence spending, but I am troubled by it being done entirely on the back of the Overseas Development Aid budget and hope he'll keep an open mind into alternatives. | ||
| It was reassuring to see the uplift in the air missiles explicitly being linked to British jobs in Northern Ireland. | ||
| So what assurance can he give that defence spending on new equipment, be it weapons, kit and tech like drones and IT, will be focused on UK manufacturing and innovation, so boosting British growth? | ||
| Well I thank her for her question and I'm really pleased that the announcement we made over the weekend was for jobs in Belfast. | ||
| Hugely important and that's the model we should follow that as we ramp up defence spending and capability we should be looking predominantly at that supporting UK jobs, UK economy and the secure skilled jobs that go with it should be in our economy because economic security is important in the UK just as defence and security is important. | ||
| Stella Creasy. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| Can I join with those thanking the Prime Minister for setting out how clearly the safety of the world relies on this moment and the future of Ukraine? | ||
| Madam Deputy Speaker, I, for one, I'm saddened the member for Clacton is no longer in his place. | ||
| It's like he might learn a thing or two, given that his previous advice to Prime Ministers was that President Macron, when he was elected, would loathe us and would be anti-British. | ||
| How out of depth and out of touch with the British national interest that advice is. | ||
| Given the coalition that the Prime Minister is building and the concern that all of us have to use resources effectively, could he tell us a little bit more about what conversations he's had with our European allies about how we can reduce the duplication of effort involved in the plans going forward, please? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Well, I thank her for her question. | ||
| I do think it's important we work with our European allies, whether that's ramping up spending or capability. | ||
| But the point she makes about coordination is also important. | ||
| We have to learn the lessons of the last three years. | ||
| Many European allies and others have provided capability to Ukraine, but it hasn't been coordinated enough. | ||
| And our collective security and defence, to my mind, requires that we coordinate our efforts much more closely as well. | ||
| Sir John Whittingdale. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| Does the Prime Minister share my concern and sadness that any settlement appears to involve acceptance of the Russian occupation of parts of the sovereign territory of Ukraine? | ||
| And will he recognise that the Baltic nations will now feel even more exposed? | ||
| And while I welcome these telephone conversations with the leaders at the weekend, can he give an assurance that they will be at the table for any future discussions of European security? | ||
| On the question of territory, obviously there's discussions to come, but I take the tenor of what he says. | ||
| On the Baltic states, I mean, he's right. | ||
| I was over at the GEF meeting in Estonia just before Christmas to have discussions with them. | ||
| I've been to the front line in Estonia twice now, where we've got British troops. | ||
| They feel very immediately the threat for very obvious reasons. | ||
| I spoke to them yesterday morning at some length and I assured them that we need to look at the configuration again when we have meetings of European and other allies to make sure the Baltic states are properly represented because for them the threat is very, very clear and very very near. | ||
| David Burton-Sampson. | ||
| Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker and I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and his outstanding global leadership that he's showing on this issue. | ||
| I too have returned from Ukraine last week after five days and the one consistent message the Ukrainian people I met gave me from residents to soldiers to businesses to politicians was their immense gratitude for the leadership and support that the UK have shown since day one of this illegal war. | ||
| Does the Prime Minister agree with me that now is the time that we remain resolute as a house for the sake of the Ukrainian people and that our 100-year partnership between our two countries is now more important than ever? | ||
| The 100-year partnership signals the depth of our relationship. | ||
| I too have heard those thanks for leadership and I think it's right that I pay tribute to the party opposite for the leadership that they showed from the very beginning of this conflict which I was able to follow as Leader of the Opposition. | ||
| George Freeman. | ||
| Thank you Madam President. | ||
| Deputy Speaker, could I add my voice to those congratulating the Prime Minister on the way he's conducted the last week and the policy which I think enjoys, if not unanimous, largely unanimous support in this House? | ||
| I gently point out to the member for Clacton, our enemies watch this chamber, and speaking with one voice is very important. | ||
| I congratulate also the Leader of the Opposition. | ||
| Does he agree with me that, as well as willing the means, the ends, we need to will the means? | ||
| Could I ask gently at what point he thinks the Prime Minister thinks he'll be bringing forward a business plan, a proposal for how we fund what is likely to be 50, 60, possibly more, 70 billion over the next five to ten years, so that our threat, our military threat, is credible, serious, and something we can actually afford. | ||
| As soon as we've got any details around plans, I will bring them to the House with the details so they can be fully discussed because this needs to be not just a short-term response but a much longer-term assessment of how we ensure that Europe is kept safe and secure. | ||
| Jacob Collier. | ||
| Can I thank the Prime Minister for his continued leadership on the world stage? | ||
| These past few days I've felt particularly proud to be British, so can I thank him for that? | ||
| The government is rightly already using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defence and reconstruction. | ||
| But can I ask the Prime Minister what further actions are being considered to ensure that Russia pays the full financial cost of its illegal invasion? | ||
| Russia's already paying the cost through the interest. | ||
| We need to look at whether we can go further on that, but it is complicated and we have to act with others. | ||
| I'll see what progress we can make and let the House know if there is progress. | ||
| Lee Dillon. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| I too had the honour of being in Ukraine for the third anniversary. | ||
| And as other honourable members have said, whether it was communities, military personnel, or Ukrainian politicians, the gratitude expressed to our nation to stand strong with the Ukrainians was clear to see. | ||
| Before going to Ukraine, I held a round table in my constituency of Newbury. | ||
| Ukrainians who are here, Prime Minister, are clear on the thankfulness for being given safety, but also the need for the visa schemes to be amended so that children can finish their education and that they can meaningfully secure employment without having time-limited visas. | ||
| So, will the government review that to make sure that we stand with Ukrainians here in the UK as well as those in their home country? | ||
| We'll take the points you make into consideration. | ||
| Obviously, the immediate situation confronting us is the question of how we settle the peace, but he's right to raise these other concerns. | ||
| James Frith. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| Can I add my voice to those around the country that have said how proud they are of our British Prime Minister and indeed how proud they are to be British? | ||
| He has led from the front, and I hope very much in the years, months, and the weeks to come, I should say, that he will hold that in mind and strengthen his resolve as we move forward. | ||
| He has already made reference to one of the priorities that Stefan Hahey, the chair of Berry's Ukrainian Association, raised with me on the release of the 20,000 children who have been kidnapped, forcibly removed, and forcibly placed into Russia. | ||
| Will he commit to getting their release and updating the House on a frequent basis as to our achievements to this end? | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Yes, of course, it's a really important issue and it shouldn't be overlooked as we discuss the very many issues here. | ||
| This is a moral outrage, and I think I speak for the whole House and say none. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, may I too congratulate the Prime Minister on his composure and leadership. | ||
| But as his honourable friend, the member for Widness and Hailwood said, we've got to ensure that we have the resources in place to tackle this. | ||
| The whole of Western Europe is in the same position of being in a difficult financial position and a demographic position. | ||
| So, will he look again at finding the means to deliver our promises? | ||
| Because his leadership and his rhetoric has been fantastic. | ||
| But going forward, we're going to need the hard power to back it up. | ||
| He's right, and that's why the conversation over the weekend has been about the specific issue of a security guarantee in Ukraine, but also, and importantly, the wider issue as to how Europe steps up more generally in its own defence in spending in capability and coordination. | ||
| And that's an important part of the discussion. | ||
| We should just focus on the question of security guarantees. | ||
| They're part of the argument, but they're not the whole argument. | ||
| Alan Strickland. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| And can I thank the Prime Minister in these incredibly difficult times for the strong leadership he is showing? | ||
| Would he agree with me that one of the many things that's become clear in recent months is that the security of Britain rests on a secure Europe. | ||
| A secure Europe relies on peace in Ukraine, and peace in Ukraine requires a unified stance against Russian aggression. | ||
| So, would the Prime Minister agree that as free peoples in the UK, Europe, America, and our allies, we must stand firm, we must stand together, we must ensure that democracy will be defended and tyranny will not be tolerated? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Well, I agree with all of that, and I think the House agrees with it too. | ||
| Jim Alastair. | ||
| Can I note with great appreciation the order for Thalas in Belfast? | ||
| With Europe collectively being a long way short of self-sufficiency in defence, and with Putin more than likely to seek to exploit that deficiency, do the security guarantees that are required from the UES effectively equate to those that would arise under Article 5 of NATO? | ||
| Is that the order of what we're talking about? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Look, NATO membership is a form of guarantee. | ||
| Article 5 is a form of guarantee. | ||
| I think there are different ways in which the guarantee can be put in place. | ||
| But what is important is that they are effective and that those in Europe that are leading all this do it in conjunction with the US so that Putin knows the severe risk that he takes if he breaches any deal that may be arrived at. | ||
| I also want to commend the Prime Minister for the way that he received President Zelensky after the disgraceful bullyboy tactics from President Trump and Vice President Barrant and for his continued support for Ukraine. | ||
| As the Ukraine solidarity campaign highlighted, increased military spending overall is not necessarily the same as increased military aid to Ukraine. | ||
| Can the Prime Minister set out how much of this increased military spending will specifically be used to re-equip Ukraine? | ||
| And is he not concerned that cutting the international aid budget risks both increasing global instability and undermining support for Ukraine, both here at home and internationally? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Well, we're stepping up our support for Ukraine both in military aid and in other ways. | ||
| In relation to the decision that I had to take last week, the security and safety and defence of Europe has to come first. | ||
| But I'm absolutely committed to doing what we can to increasing the aid and development that we're able to provide, which is why I'll look at the priorities and work with others on other ways to leverage the support that we might be able to put in place. | ||
| I may also congratulate the Prime Minister on the leadership he's shown this weekend. | ||
| It is in the best traditions of British Prime Ministers, dealing with the United States, dealing with Europe notably. | ||
| Also, when we were in the EU, we were able to do that. | ||
| But can I express the Prime Minister on coming up the Hague summit for NATO leaders in June, where when the Honourable Member for Windness and Howard and I were at the North Atlantic Council in the February recess, it was made clear that they would bring forward the plans that would be needed to defend Europe. | ||
| So can I ask that he uses his leadership that if we suddenly have to do spend more money, he's in a position where we'll keep an open mind on that so we can persuade all the other leaders they also have to do that. | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Well I thank him for that and one of the principles I've held in mind over recent days in particular is making sure that what we do is coordinated with NATO as it must be. | ||
| We are deployed in different countries as he knows already and that's why I'm in such close contact with the Secretary-General Mark Rutter on a near constant basis. | ||
| Graham Downey. | ||
| Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker and can I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and indeed his stamina in all the meetings over the weekend, not the least for coming to this House for an extra hour and a half and counting this afternoon to keep this House informed. | ||
| As with other members from across the House, I took part in the trip to Ukraine for the third anniversary last week. | ||
| Does the Prime Minister agree with me that while the cross-party consensus on Ukraine is welcome, including from the SNP, does he agree with me that the SNP Scottish Government must take action to support businesses in Scotland to make sure that they can benefit from the increase in defence spending and is able to continue to contribute to the security of the United Kingdom and our allies in Ukraine? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| I agree with that principle. | ||
| I do think that the increase in defence spending is a duty but also an opportunity across the United Kingdom for good, well-paid, skilled jobs in many businesses. | ||
| Richard Ford. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| It's very welcome to hear the Prime Minister acknowledge the contribution of Canada to Ukraine's self-defence and its status as a vital ally for the UK. | ||
| Last week the Prime Minister was asked in the US by the press about President Trump's repeated calls for Canada to become a state within the US. | ||
| The PM answered that he and Trump didn't address that issue, didn't address Canada. | ||
| Yet wasn't this meeting a good opportunity to remind President Trump about sovereignty, independence, including that of Canada? | ||
| Yes, but it's a serious point. | ||
| In the time we had available, I was most anxious to discuss the question of security guarantees, and that's why I devoted the vast amount of time I had there. | ||
| But on the question of Canada, I think we should be absolutely clear. | ||
| Canada is a vital ally to the United Kingdom, to the Commonwealth, and has played a leading part in relation to Ukraine, not least on the vital training that they have provided. | ||
| We should be very proud of what the Canadians have done. | ||
| Madam Deputy Speaker, I'd like to put on record my thanks indeed. | ||
| I know the entire House thanks the Prime Minister for the leadership he has shown over the weekend and in particular as well in his statement today talking about stepping up the pressure, the economic pressure on Russia. | ||
| Now, as things stand, we know that Russia is circumventing the oil price cap. | ||
| It's being sold above $60, around $190 billion flowing to Putin from his oil sales last year. | ||
| And we in this country, in London, are in a unique position to enforce that cap because we know that the insurance that those tankers depend upon is written within London. | ||
| So can I ask the Prime Minister to assure us that he will strengthen the oil price cap as much as possible and I request a meeting with the Minister to discuss how we can strengthen it in more detail? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| Well, I thank him for his question. | ||
| He's right. | ||
| We do need to take further measures, and that's why we've taken specific sanctions against the shadow fleet and oil producers to tackle this very issue. | ||
| David Reeves. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and where credit is due, and I commend the Prime Minister for the leadership that he's shown over this past week. | ||
| Many members across this House will understand the range of emotions that are felt before deploying on global operations. | ||
| So would the Prime Minister please give a message to our brave men and women from across our armed forces that are immensely preparing to deploy to Ukraine? | ||
| Prime Minister. | ||
| The message would be: thank you for everything you do, and we support you in everything that we do. | ||
| Josh Dean. | ||
| Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. | ||
| And can I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership on what is the defining moral issue of our time? | ||
| There is no end of support for the Ukrainian people in Hartford and Stortford, but it has been an incredibly difficult time for those Ukrainian people. | ||
| We'll leave this here, but you can continue watching it on our app, C-SPANNOW, and our website, c-span.org. | ||
| The U.S. House is about to gavel in for general speeches live now to the House. | ||
| The House will be in order. | ||
| The Chair lays before the House a communication from the Speaker. |