| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
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Meeting with Congress is: I want him to address the validity of Elon Musk's email to federal employees asking them for five bullet points as to what they've accomplished in the past week. | |
| I feel like that action is very unlawful, and I'd love some more elaboration on his part on why these emails are being sent out to federal employees. | ||
| I'm Maggie Lyons, and I would love to hear the President talk about the National Apprenticeship Program. | ||
| Hello, my name is William Woolke. | ||
| I'm originally from East Tennessee. | ||
| I'm a third-year doctoral student at the University of Delaware, and I really think the President should be talking about youth homelessness in his upcoming congressional briefing. | ||
| My name is Thomas. | ||
| I'm from Brazil, and I would like the President to talk about the environment because I think it's one of the greatest challenges of the century, and it impacts my home country. | ||
| My name is Audrey. | ||
| I'm from Philadelphia, and I hope the President addresses science funding. | ||
| C-SPAN's voices, delivering democracy unfiltered. | ||
| Be part of the conversation. | ||
| British Prime Minister Kier Starmer talked about the UK's commitment to Ukraine and its war against Russia during remarks in the House of Commons. | ||
| He made the remarks after hosting Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders. | ||
| This runs about 45 minutes. | ||
| We now come to the statement on Ukraine. | ||
| I call the Prime Minister. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Less than a week since I called on this House to show the courage of our predecessors, we see clearly before us the test of our times, a crossroads in our history. | |
| So, with permission, Mr. Speaker, I'll update the House on my efforts to secure a strong, 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. | ||
|
unidentified
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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: 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. | ||
|
unidentified
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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. | ||
| 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 Whitefall 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. | ||
|
unidentified
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Mr. Speaker, we resolved together to move forward the strong cause of just and lasting peace in Ukraine. | |
| 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
|
unidentified
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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. | ||
|
unidentified
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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 the peace. | ||
|
unidentified
|
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 Mintz again. | ||
| No, we must proceed with strength, 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. | ||
| But to succeed, this effort must also have strong US backing. | ||
|
unidentified
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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. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Russia is a menace in our waters and skies. | |
| 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. | ||
| But we also stand by them because it's in our interest to do so. | ||
|
unidentified
|
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. | ||
|
unidentified
|
We must now win the peace. | |
| And I commend this statement to the House. | ||
| Come to the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Bedrock. | ||
| Mr Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for advance 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% 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. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Can I thank her for her message in our discussion this morning? | |
| Can I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her support for the measures that we are taking? | ||
| It matters across this 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, and 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 Light 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. | ||
| 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've 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. | ||
| Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davy. | ||
| 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. | ||
| Because I say with deep regret, I fear that President Trump is not a reliable ally with respect to Russia. | ||
| And 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? | ||
|
unidentified
|
And does he agree that the British ambassador should not be freelancing on American TV? | |
| 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. | ||
| That did form part of our discussions yesterday. | ||
| James Cleverley. | ||
| 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 you for the NOT 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 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, Sir 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 towerants 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 to 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. | ||
| we will work with our allies. | ||
| 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 the 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. | ||
| 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 deterrence, it is now. | ||
| We mustn't reduce our security and defence. | ||
| I think it is a completely wrong-headed decision. | ||
| They should reconsider. | ||
| Derek Twick. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| 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 at 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. | ||
| 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 it'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. | ||
| need to bear down on Russia and all of those that support Russia in this illegal war. | ||
| Hello McGuire. | ||
| Thank you Mr Speaker. | ||
| We welcome the increase in defence spending but when I served there was 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 go 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 course. | ||
| We've never chosen that course in our history. | ||
| We shouldn't choose it now. | ||
| Joyce Ventengland. | ||
| 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 Tugendar. | ||
| 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 and all budgets would be far more profound if we go back to instability, and I'm not prepared to do it. | ||
| Nigel 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. | ||
|
unidentified
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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 honourable 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 her for raising this issue because this is absolutely crucial. | ||
|
unidentified
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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 Gayle. | ||
| 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. |