Starmer indicates desire for closer defence ties with EU ahead of trade talks

Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he wants to work more closely with Europe on defence, as trade talks between the EU and UK are due to take place.

The latest meeting of the EU-UK Partnership Council will take place in the coming week, when Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will discuss ongoing efforts to forge closer ties with the bloc.

Ahead of the talks, the Prime Minister was asked during his trip to China whether there was still a way for Britain to join the European Union’s new 150 billion euro (£130 billion) Security Action for Europe (Safe) rearmament fund.

Talks about Britain joining are reported to have broken down at the end of last year, as the price for entry was thought to be too high.

France was said to have been responsible for insisting on the price tag, but officials there have denied this.

Though the coming talks will not include Safe, Sir Keir was asked during his trip if he thought there was a case for joining Safe if the price was right and if it was in the national interest.

He told reporters: “Europe, including the UK, needs to do more on security and defence. That’s an argument I’ve been making for many months now with European leaders.

“We’ve got to step up and do more. It’s not only (US) President (Donald) Trump who thinks Europe needs to do more but other presidents as well. I think the same.”

He added: “I do think on spend, capability and co-operation we need to do more together.

“I’ve made the argument and that should require us to look at schemes like Safe and others to see whether there is a way in which we can work more closely together.

“Whether it’s Safe or other initiatives, it makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word – which is the EU, plus other European countries – to work more closely together. That’s what I’ve been advocating and I hope to make some progress on that.”

Elsewhere, Sir Keir was asked by reporters if his desire for closer ties with Europe was an attempt to row back on Brexit, as a means of creating a dividing line with Reform’s Nigel Farage.

The Prime Minister replied: “As far as Nigel Farage is concerned, let us remind ourselves that he said if we left the EU it would be £350 million a week for the NHS – that didn’t happen.

“He said if we left the EU there would be less red tape for trading into Europe – try telling that to any business that is trading into Europe.

“He said if we left the EU regular migration would go down – it quadrupled under the Boris wave.

“So I wouldn’t listen too much to what Nigel Farage has to say about this.”

Sir Keir described the previous government’s Brexit deal as “botched” and pointed to efforts by Labour to negotiate new arrangements, including on food and agriculture, which he said “lead to lower prices in our supermarkets”.