Donald Trump has raised no concerns over defence spending, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted, just days after his defence secretary resigned and accused him of being unwilling to put enough resources into Britain’s ailing military.
Speaking from the G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, the prime minister denied that he was snubbed by the US president as it emerged the pair had no bilateral meetings planned for Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sir Keir, who has had an increasingly fractious relationship with Mr Trump in recent months, insisted the pair “get on really well”, adding that they had a “very honest and frank conversation” on Monday when they spent two hours together at a working dinner.
He also said the US president did not raise any concerns over his newly announced plan to ban social media for under-16s, despite the Trump administration previously urging the UK not to impose the policy.
Mr Trump has repeatedly urged Nato allies to ramp up their defence spending, threatening to pull out of the alliance if they don’t pull their weight.
But just days before Sir Keir came face-to-face with the US president at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, John Healey quit his post amid a row over defence funding, leaving the UK’s MoD in a state of chaos.
The prime minister has since suggested there would be no extra money allocated for defence,
Asked by The Independent whether Mr Trump used their conversations at the G7 to raise concerns over defence spending or social media, and if Sir Keir was concerned the two issues could further damage UK-US relations, the PM said: “No, and no, and no.”
He continued: “I sat next to Donald Trump for two hours last night at dinner, which was just the G7 leaders. There were no listening rooms, there were no staff, no advisers. It was literally an opportunity for all of us to have a very honest and frank conversation. It was a very productive session,” he said.
“Yesterday was predominantly about Iran, which was the major issue over dinner. This morning was about Ukraine.”
He added: “Contrary to what you may put to me, it was actually a very constructive, very good discussion.
“I actually spoke to Donald Trump on Saturday before we came, we get on really well and I’ve been with him now Saturday on the phone, and last night and this morning, and we’re sitting next to each other, so as you know there’s lots of room for side conversations in the margins.”
He also denied he has been snubbed by Mr Trump, after The Guardian reported that Mr Macron, Mr Zelensky and the US president turned up late to a G7 meeting on Ukraine, fuelling speculation that the trio had a meeting on the fringes of the summit without Sir Keir.
Asked whether he was snubbed, Sir Keir said: “Honestly, I mean, we’ve just spent two hours last night sat next to each other, chatting to each other.
“I spoke to him on the phone on Saturday for quite some time, one to one, as we often do.
“I’ve been sat next to him and discussing things in the margin with him this morning, and we’re about to go into another session in five minutes, where I’ll be sitting next to him again.
“So we are talking pretty constantly throughout this and it’s been very productive, very good conversations.”
Asked if there will be more money for defence, the PM said: “I have taken the decision to reallocate money from other departments. Obviously, the new defence secretary [Dan Jarvis] is reading in and we’re talking to him about how and what we will spend that money in terms of capability.”
It comes despite Mr Healey’s damning assessment that the amount of extra cash available amounted to a tiny proportion of what was needed, with just £10bn allocated.
The PM also told reporters that there has been a “mood change” in Ukraine, saying there is “a real sense that things are changing, that Ukraine is not taking territory – which is has done in the last few months – rather than defending territory”
On Tuesday, the UK unveiled new sanctions on Russian shadow fleet vessels as part of an attempt to choke Vladimir Putin’s war effort, whilst bolstering Ukraine’s nuclear power infrastructure with a £210m export finance package.
The prime minister, who set out the plans as he arrived in France for the G7 summit, warned that Putin’s “aggression threatens not just Ukraine, but the security of all Europe”.
