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00:00I wish the Prime Minister every success on his trip to Washington. The visit to see President
00:08Trump must serve our national interest. The Prime Minister and I are completely united
00:14in our support for Ukraine as a proud and sovereign nation. What specific steps will
00:20he take to ensure Ukraine is at the negotiating table for any peace settlement?
00:26Well, I thank her for her words about the forthcoming trip. And it is right, and I think
00:32the whole House will think it's right, that Ukraine must be at the table at negotiations.
00:37There can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine. That has been my consistent
00:43position in all of the discussions that I've had. That will continue to be my position
00:47because this is about the sovereignty of Ukraine and their ability to decide for themselves
00:52the future of their country. So they must be at the table.
00:55Mr. Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for that answer. And as I said, I wish him every
01:01success. We want to support him on this issue. So turning to the details of the plan he set
01:07out yesterday. Over the weekend, I suggested to the Prime Minister that he cut the aid
01:11budget. And I am pleased that he accepted my advice.
01:16Mr. Speaker, it's the fastest response. It's the fastest response I've ever had from the
01:23Prime Minister. However, he announced £13.4 billion in additional defence spending yesterday.
01:32This morning, his defence secretary said the uplift is only £6 billion, which is the correct
01:36figure.
01:37Prime Minister.
01:38I'm going to have to let the Leader of the Opposition down gently. She didn't feature
01:45in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend, I didn't even see her proposal.
01:53I think she's appointed herself, I think, Saviour of the Western Civilisation. It's
01:59a desperate search for relevance. But, Mr. Speaker, look, if you take the numbers for
02:06this financial year and then the numbers for the financial year 27-28, that's £13.4
02:13billion increase. That is the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold
02:19War, which will put us in a position to ensure the security and defence of our country and
02:24of Europe.
02:25Mr. Speaker, that wasn't very clear. How is it that the defence secretary says £6
02:32billion and he says £13.4 billion? The IFS said today that the government is playing
02:38silly games with numbers. How does he find this difference in numbers?
02:43Prime Minister.
02:44Mr. Speaker, we went through this two weeks ago, going through the same question over
02:48and over again. So let me say, if you take the financial year this year and then you
02:55take the financial year for 2012 and 2028, the difference between the two is £13.4 billion.
03:02That's the same answer. If you ask again, I'll give the same answer again.
03:12I'll decide when it's more.
03:14Can we move on?
03:15Mr. Speaker, someone needs to tell the Prime Minister that being patronising is not a substitute
03:22for answering questions. It's not a substitute. He hasn't answered. What he has said is different
03:29from what he said yesterday. We are still not clear where the money is coming from.
03:35We want to support him. He's also said that we should put British troops on the ground
03:40in Ukraine. We haven't seen the detail of any proposals. Would his new spending plans
03:45allow him to fund this commitment effectively?
03:49Prime Minister.
03:50I think it's the same question again. It's £13.4 billion. That's the difference between
03:53this year and 2020. She asked a serious question about the security guarantees in Ukraine and
04:00that is extremely important because the worst of all outcomes, if there's to be a cessation
04:05of hostilities, is that it is a short break rather than a sustained and lasting peace.
04:10I think that that means there's got to be security guarantees. I've indicated that
04:14we will play our full part. There has to be US backing because otherwise I don't think
04:19it will deter Putin. We are working on that. I'm having extensive discussions about it.
04:24I'm not in a position to put details before the House, as she well knows today, but I'll
04:28continue down that route because I want a lasting peace in Ukraine and Europe for the
04:33safety and security of Ukrainians, of Europeans and, of course, for everybody in this country.
04:39Mr Speaker, this is an endeavour that we want to support him in, but we need to know exactly
04:45what it is we're supporting. We need clarity and transparency over the money. We also need
04:51to know where this money is going. This morning, the Defence Secretary could not say if the
04:56Chegos deal would come out of the defence budget. Can he confirm to the House that none
05:01of the defence uplift includes payments for his Chegos deal?
05:05Prime Minister.
05:06Mr Speaker, the additional spend I announced yesterday is for our capability on defence
05:10and security in Europe, as I made absolutely clear yesterday. The Chegos deal is extremely
05:16important for our security, for US security. The US are rightly looking at it. When it's
05:22finalised, they'll put it before the House with the costings. The figures being bandied
05:27around are absolutely wild at the moment. The deal is well over a century, but the funding
05:33I announced yesterday is for our capability to put ourselves in a position to rise to
05:38a generational challenge. That is what that money is all about, and I thought she supported it.
05:43Mr Speaker, we need to make sure we are supporting a plan that is clear and transparent.
05:51Yesterday, the Prime Minister set an ambition for defence spending to reach 3% in the next
05:55Parliament. We agree with him, but this could be 2034, almost a decade away. That is too
06:01slow. We don't know how he will pay for it. We cannot raise taxes further. We already
06:06pay more on debt interest than defence, and everyone in this House would have heard him
06:10not answer the last question. So I will ask him again. Is he paying for the Chegos deal
06:15with this defence uplift or not?
06:17Prime Minister.
06:18Mr Speaker, I've just dealt with that question. The money announced yesterday is going to
06:24our capability to put ourselves in a position to defend the security of our country, Europe
06:31and the UK. She asked about defence spending. She gave what people have described as a rambling
06:36speech yesterday, when she couldn't say what defence spending should be. We've been absolutely
06:41clear. We've set out a full, credible, costed plan, and I thought she supported it.