Sir Keir Starmer says Russia started Ukraine war and ‘could end the conflict straight away’

Published

2 months ago

September 13, 2024

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Sir Keir Starmer has said that Russia started the Ukraine war and “could end the conflict straight away”.

The prime minister has arrived in Washington DC for talks with President Joe Biden at the White House over the ongoing conflict.

Sir Keir has backed Kyiv’s right to defend itself after Russian leader Vladimir Putin suggested his country would be “at war” with NATO if the West allows long-range weapons to be used against it.

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The PM said the UK does not “seek any conflict with Russia”, before adding: “That’s not our intention in the slightest.”

The UK has been providing Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles since last year but, like the US, it does not allow the country to launch the weapons against sites in Russia amid fears of escalation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling for restrictions to be lifted on the use of such missiles against targets in Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of his country in February 2022.

On Thursday, President Putin said allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the US, and European countries are at war with Russia… if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us”.

Responding to his remarks, Sir Keir told reporters on the flight to the US: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict straight away.

“Ukraine has the right to self-defence and we’ve obviously been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self-defence – we’re providing training capability.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US secretary of state Antony Blinken held talks with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv earlier this week as Ukraine continued to appeal to the two countries to change their stance – especially in light of American intelligence that Russia had received a shipment of weapons from Iran.

But while neither politician would reveal any decision, both Mr Lammy and Mr Blinken confirmed they would pass on the message to their respective leaders before they met at the end of the week, with the latter telling Sky News that President Biden was “not ruling out” moving his position.

It will also be the first time Sir Keir and President Biden meet after the UK government chose to ban some weapons export licences to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Mr Lammy announced the decision in the Commons last week after legal advice to the government said there was a “clear risk” they might be used to commit “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.

But he faced a backlash, both from MPs who thought the move undermined the UK’s support for Israel and from MPs who wanted the ban to cover all weapons export licences.

On the same day, President Biden said a final hostage deal between Israel and Hamas was “very close” – but that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure an agreement.

UK

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Published

39 mins ago

November 23, 2024

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Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

UK

Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5%

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.