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00:00In less than a week since I called on this House to show the courage of our predecessors,
00:05we see clearly before us the test of our times, a crossroads in our history.
00:11So with permission, Mr Speaker, I'll update the House on my efforts to secure a strong,
00:17just and lasting peace following Russia's vile invasion of Ukraine.
00:23Mr Speaker, it begins in this House, where on Tuesday I announced the biggest sustained
00:28increase in defence spending since the Cold War, a recognition of the fact that once again
00:36we live in an era where peace in Europe depends upon strength and deterrence, but also a rediscovery
00:45of the old post-war argument long held on these benches that economic security is national
00:53security.
00:56Because Mr Speaker, the demands we now have to make of Britain must come alongside a new
01:02foundation of security for working people.
01:06The tough choices that we made last week, they are not done.
01:12We must use the process of getting to 3% of our national income spent on defence to fundamentally
01:19rebuild British industry.
01:22We must use our investment in military spending to create new jobs and apprenticeships in
01:27every part of the country.
01:30And that's why last night I announced a deal that perfectly symbolises the new era.
01:37A partnership with Ukraine that allows them to use ÂŁ1.6 billion of UK export finance
01:45to buy 5,000 air defence missiles manufactured in Belfast.
01:53That means UK jobs, UK skills, UK finance pulling together for our national interests,
02:01putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position for peace and protecting innocent
02:06civilians from the terror of Russian drones.
02:11My efforts continued on Thursday when I met President Trump in the White House to strengthen
02:19our relationship with America.
02:23Now what happened in his subsequent meeting with President Zelensky is something nobody
02:29in this House wants to see.
02:34But I do want to be crystal clear.
02:37We must strengthen our relationship with America.
02:41For our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment.
02:47They are, and always will be, indispensable.
02:52And we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic.
02:58In fact, Mr Speaker, if anything, the past week has shown that that idea is totally unserious.
03:06Because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking a side, this week has shown, with
03:11total clarity, that the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine.
03:21So I welcome the opportunity for a new economic deal with the US, confirmed by the President
03:26last week, because it's an opportunity I'm determined to pursue.
03:32I welcome the positive discussions we had on European security, including his clear
03:38support for Article 5 of NATO.
03:42I welcome the understanding from our dialogue that our two nations will work together on
03:48security arrangements for a lasting peace in Ukraine.
03:54I also welcome the President's continued commitment to that peace, which nobody in
03:59this House should doubt for a second, is sincere.
04:05Mr Speaker, I now turn to the events of this weekend, and the moving scenes that greeted
04:10President Zelensky as he arrived in London on Saturday.
04:16Mr Speaker, I saw for myself he was taken aback when the crowd in Whitehall cheered
04:20at the top of their voices, and they were speaking for the whole of our country.
04:28A reminder that this Government, this House and this nation stand in unwavering support
04:34behind him and the people of Ukraine.
04:39Mr Speaker, we resolved together to move forward the strong cause of just and lasting peace
04:47in Ukraine.
04:49And then on Sunday, I hosted European leaders from across our continent, equally committed
04:55to this cause, including President Macron, Prime Minister Maloney, the leaders of NATO,
05:02the European Commission and Council, and the Prime Minister of Canada, a vital ally
05:07of this country, the Commonwealth and Ukraine, responsible for training over 40,000 Ukrainian
05:14troops.
05:15I also had the privilege beforehand of speaking online to the leaders of Estonia, Lithuania
05:22and Latvia, each of whom, as close as they are to the front line with Russia, stressed
05:29the urgency of the moment.
05:32And Mr Speaker, it was a productive summit.
05:36Together we agreed a clear strategy that the United Kingdom, France and our allies will
05:43work closely with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which we will then discuss directly
05:49with the United States.
05:52It's a plan that has four clear principles, which I'll now share in full with the House.
05:58First, that we must keep the military aid to Ukraine flowing, keep increasing the economic
06:05pressure on Russia, and to that end, alongside our partnership on air defence, we're doubling
06:12down on military aid.
06:14Already this year, we've taken our support to record levels.
06:19And on Saturday, we also agreed a new ÂŁ2.2 billion loan for Ukraine, backed not by the
06:26British taxpayer, but by the profits from frozen Russian assets.
06:31Second, Mr Speaker, we agreed that any lasting peace must guarantee the sovereignty and security
06:39of Ukraine, and that Ukraine must be at the table when negotiating their future.
06:46That is absolutely vital.
06:49Third, we agreed that in the event of a peace deal, we will continue to boost Ukraine's
06:55defences and Ukraine's deterrence.
06:59And finally, fourth, we agreed to develop a coalition of the willing, ready to defend
07:06a deal in Ukraine and guarantee the peace.
07:12Mr Speaker, after all, the Ukrainian position is completely understandable.
07:16For them, the war did not begin three years ago.
07:21That was merely the latest and most brutal escalation.
07:26They have signed agreements with Putin before.
07:29They've experienced the nature of his diplomacy and the calibre of his word.
07:34We cannot accept a weak deal like Minsk again.
07:40No, we must proceed with strength.
07:43And that does now require, urgently, a coalition of the willing.
07:49Mr Speaker, we agreed on Sunday that those willing to play a role in this will intensify
07:55planning now.
07:57And as this House would expect, Britain will play a leading role, with, if necessary, and
08:04together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air.
08:09Mr Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent.
08:18But to succeed, this effort must also have strong US backing.
08:26I want to assure this House, I take none of this lightly.
08:32I've visited British troops in Estonia.
08:35And no aspect of my role weighs more heavily than the deployment of British troops in the
08:42service of defence and security in Europe.
08:47And yet I do feel very strongly that the future of Ukraine is vital for our national security.
08:54Russia is a menace in our waters and skies.
08:58They've launched cyber attacks on our NHS, assassination attempts in our streets.
09:06In this House, we stand by Ukraine because it's the right thing to do.
09:11But we also stand by them because it's in our interest to do so.
09:18Because if we do not achieve a lasting peace, then the instability and insecurity that has
09:25hit the living standards of working people in Britain, that will only get worse.
09:32And Putin's appetite for conflict and chaos, that will only grow.
09:39So a strong peace, a just peace, a lasting peace, that has now to be our goal.
09:46It is vital.
09:48It is in our interests.
09:49In its pursuit, Britain will lead from the front for the security of our continent, the
09:56security of our country, and the security of the British people.
10:00We must now win the peace.
10:02And I commend this statement to the House.
10:05I come to the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Bedrock.
10:13Mr Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement and also for
10:17our conversation earlier today.
10:20The United Kingdom is a free, democratic and sovereign country.
10:24We recognise that Ukraine is fighting for her survival and fighting to have the same
10:30freedom, democracy and sovereignty which all of us here enjoy.
10:35That is why both the Opposition and the Government are fully committed to supporting Ukraine
10:40and President Zelensky.
10:43I was also glad to see His Majesty the King welcome President Zelensky at Sandringham.
10:48As I said at the weekend, President Zelensky is a hero.
10:52He is a symbol of the bravery of the Ukrainian people.
10:55There are of course many areas where the Prime Minister and I disagree, but now is the time
10:59for us to discuss where we do agree.
11:02I welcome all of his actions this weekend to convene European leaders, as well as the
11:07focus on economic security using UK export finance to support British jobs.
11:13As the Prime Minister knows, we welcomed the uplift in defence spending to 2.5% of
11:17GDP by 2027.
11:19We also support the use of foreign aid to achieve this.
11:23We welcome a commitment to reach 3% in the years ahead and we will support him in taking
11:27difficult spending decisions, including on welfare, and we will return to the details
11:32of how the Government will fund this in the near future.
11:36But for now, it is right that the Prime Minister is working with allies in Europe and with
11:41the United States to bring peace to Ukraine and not a surrender to Russia.
11:46As part of this, the Prime Minister has suggested that British troops could be deployed in Ukraine.
11:51There are obviously a range of possible options for what such a deployment could look like,
11:55and we are keen to work with the Government, but we will need details of any such plan.
12:01This will be a difficult but significant step.
12:04I know many in Parliament and across our country will be interested in what this entails, and
12:09I ask him to work with us so that there can be effective scrutiny.
12:12I also welcome the coalition of the willing to support Ukraine and agree that Europe must
12:17do the heavy lifting.
12:19So can I ask the Prime Minister to update us on what European and other allies are willing
12:23to offer towards this coalition?
12:27Can I welcome the use of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine and
12:32ask the Prime Minister if he has plans to go further and use the frozen assets themselves?
12:38Can I ask him for an update on the Government's sanctions on Russian-linked individuals and
12:44for confirmation that such sanctions would not be lifted in the event of a ceasefire?
12:50Can I ask the Prime Minister to update us on the steps he and other allies are taking
12:54to ensure that Ukraine is at the negotiating table for any peace plan and what he thinks
13:00can be done to heal the rift with Washington?
13:05As the Prime Minister referenced in his speech, the Minsk Agreements of 2015 failed to stop
13:10Russian aggression and ultimately did not return Ukraine's territorial integrity.
13:16His second principle is that any lasting peace guarantees the sovereignty of Ukraine.
13:22So can I finally ask how the Prime Minister will work to ensure we avoid a repeat of the
13:27Minsk Agreements and how we can ensure that any peace fully protects Ukrainian sovereignty?
13:34At times like these, it is so important that we stand together to defend shared values
13:38and the fundamental, basic principle that aggressors should not win.
13:44The Prime Minister will have our support to do that and to ensure that we continue to
13:48uphold those values all of us in this Parliament hold dear.
13:53Prime Minister, can I thank you for a message in our discussion this morning and can I thank
14:00the Leader of the Opposition for her support for the measures that we are taking?
14:06It matters across this House that we are united on this issue.
14:10It matters to the Ukrainians and to President Zelensky and I can tell you that he was moved
14:19by the reception that he got in our country on Saturday and I can tell you I felt very
14:24proud to be British on Saturday when our country spoke with one voice and she reflects
14:31that with the unity across the House and I do thank her for it.
14:36She asked about the details of any deployment.
14:40We will of course put details before the House when we get to that stage, if we get to that
14:44stage and as I mentioned to her this morning in our phone call, I will make sure that she
14:48gets whatever briefings she needs to be able to look at the detail before it is put before
14:53the House so she is fully informed.
14:56On the question of other allies, we had a long meeting yesterday with a number of allies.
15:02My strong view is that we have to move forward, we have to lead from the front and therefore
15:08we need a coalition of the willing because otherwise we will move at the speed of the
15:14most reluctant and that will be too slow.
15:18A number of countries and allies indicated their support.
15:22They will set that out in due course.
15:23I won't pretend that every country is in the same place on this issue.
15:28That is why I and others took the view that we should take a leading position and move
15:32forward but I will give further details as they become available.
15:38On the question of the frozen assets themselves, obviously the proceeds, the profits are being
15:43used in the way that the House understands in accordance with the statement I just made.
15:49On the assets themselves, it is a very complicated issue, not straightforward but I do think
15:56that we need to do and are doing more work to look at what are the possibilities at least
16:01along with other countries but I am not going to pretend that this is simple or straightforward.
16:07On the sanctions, we introduced the heaviest sanctions last week that we have put in place
16:14and she is quite right, they must not be lifted just because there is a cessation in the fighting.
16:20They must be kept in place as a vital part of our armoury, something which didn't happen
16:25with Minsk and she is quite right to say that we have to avoid the mistakes of the past
16:30which is why a security guarantee is so important.
16:34A guarantee that we should lead but needs US backing if it is to act as a proper guarantee
16:42and of course she is right to say Ukraine must be at the table in any discussions about
16:46the future of Ukraine and I think that is a common position across the House.