Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is making a statement in the House of Commons about his frantic weekend of diplomatic activity after the extraordinary Oval Office row between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Monday 3 March 2025 16:03, UK
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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey uses a number of questions to criticise Donald Trump’s rhetoric – not just on Ukraine, but also Canada.
He’s repeatedly suggested it become a 51st state.
Sir Keir Starmer says he held bilateral talks with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau during the weekend’s Ukraine summit in London and “was able to assure him of our strong support for Canada, a close ally of ours, a strong supporter of Ukraine”.
Canada has “led the way” in much of the training of Ukrainian troops, he says, and Trudeau was “very welcome” at yesterday’s summit.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP, tells the House that the prime minister had a “pitch perfect response” to last week’s events, as he works towards a “just peace for Ukraine”.
However, she asks about cuts to the aid budget, saying it is “hard to believe that there would be enough left in the budget to provide meaningful humanitarian support”.
Thornberry asks if the prime minister understands the concern that these cuts could “hobble the very leadership that he has shown this weekend”.
Responding, Sir Keir Starmer points to the rise in defence spending, which caused the cut in the aid budget.
He says he remains “committed” to overseas aid – with priorities in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says she supports Sir Keir Starmer’s efforts this weekend and calls President Zelenskyy “a hero”.
She says she and the PM disagree on many areas but “now is the time for us to discuss where we do agree”.
In response to Badenoch asking about using frozen Russian assets, Starmer says the proceeds of that are being used to help Ukraine.
But he says it is a “very complicated issue, not straightforward”.
He says the UK introduced the heaviest sanctions yet on Russia last week but agrees with Badenoch they must not be lifted if there is a cessation in fighting.
“They must be kept in place as a vital part of our armoury,” he says.
He adds that the UK must “avoid the mistakes of the past” in reference to the Minsk Agreements, which sought to end the Donbas war of 2014 between armed Russian separatists and Ukraine.
Europe mediated the agreements but Russia did not keep to the ceasefire and the fighting did not stop.
Sir Keir Starmer says Britain will play a “leading role” in securing peace for Ukraine.
“With, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air.”
Such decisions would be put before the Commons, he says.
The prime minister says 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.”
Starmer says he takes none of these decisions “lightly”.
“I have visited British troops in Estonia, and no aspect of my role weighs more heavily than the deployment of British troops.”
He adds he does “feel very strongly” that the future of Ukraine is essential for our own security.
“Russia is a menace in our waters and skies.”
Starmer concludes that Britain will “lead from the front”.
“For the security of our continent, the security of our country and the security of the British people – we must now win the peace”.
Sir Keir Starmer says Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “taken aback” by the crowd of people in Whitehall who cheered him as he entered Downing Street over the weekend.
He says it was a reminder that the British government and the public “stand in unwavering support behind him and the people of Ukraine here”.
‘Clear strategy’ needed
The prime minister says the European leaders who met for a summit on Ukraine yesterday in London stressed the “urgency of the moment”.
He calls it a “productive summit” and says they agreed a “clear strategy” that the UK, France and their allies “will work closely with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting”.
They will then discuss that plan with the US, he says.
The PM says the plan has four principles:
Sir Keir Starmer tells the Commons the televised row between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday “is something nobody in this House wants to see here”.
US ‘vital’ for peace in Ukraine
He says the UK needs to strengthen its relationships with the US “for our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment”.
He says the US will “always be indispensable” and the UK will never choose between the UK or the US.
The prime minister says the past week shows “with total clarity” the US is “vital” in securing peace in Ukraine.
He adds he welcomes the opportunity for a new economic deal with the US, agreed with Trump last week.
Sir Keir Starmer is now on his feet in the House of Commons, where he is delivering an update after a busy week of diplomacy at home and abroad.
The prime minister begins by stating that “we see clearly before us the test of our time – a crossroads in our history”.
He says that a plan for peace in Ukraine began with Labour’s hiked defence spending, adding that “economic security is national security”.
“Because 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 – they are not done.
“We must use the process of getting to 3% of our national income spent on defence to fundamentally rebuild British industry.”
‘The new era’
This is why, Starmer says, last night he announced a deal that “perfectly symbolises the new era”.
He adds: “A partnership with Ukraine that allows them to use £1.6bn of UK export finance to buy 5,000 air defence missiles manufactured in Belfast.”
The prime minister says this means UK jobs, UK skills, UK finance “pulling together for our national interest”.
Sir Keir Starmer had an exceptionally busy end to last week.
He met Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday and then – after the explosive meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents in the Oval Office the following day – hosted European leaders for a major summit about the war on Sunday.
He’s now updating MPs on what he got up to – you can watch his statement live in the stream below or at the top of this page, and follow updates throughout.
Sir Keir Starmer has left Number 10 and is heading to parliament for a statement about his recent exploits.
He’ll be updating MPs about his talks with Donald Trump and the weekend’s summit with European leaders about Ukraine.
We’ll have live coverage from around 3.30pm.
A “coalition of the willing” could provide boots on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
The phrase was a central theme of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech after European leaders gathered in London for crucial talks about Ukraine’s future.
Led by the UK and France, the initiative could see troops from a number of European and NATO countries deployed to Ukraine as peacekeepers in order to deter Vladimir Putin from rearming and attacking again in the future.
Starmer said Europe “must do the heavy lifting” on defence and indicated several countries had expressed interest in being part of the coalition.
So who’s in, who’s out – and what’s behind these latest buzzwords?
Our foreign news reporter Michael Drummond explains everything you need to know here…
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