Sir Keir Starmer wants to maintain momentum in move towards peace

The Prime Minister said the European “coalition of the willing” has been formed to avoid moving “at the speed of the most reluctant and that will be too slow”.

Speaking to the House of Commons in response to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, Sir Keir said: “It matters across this House that we are united on this issue. It matters to the Ukrainians and to President Zelensky, and I can tell you that he was moved by the reception that he got in our country on Saturday and I can tell you I felt very proud to be British on Saturday when our country spoke with one voice.”

He added: “She asks about the details of any deployment. We will, of course, put details before the House when we get to that stage, if we get to that stage.”

The PM added: “My strong view is that we have to move forward, we have to lead from the front, and therefore we need a coalition of the willing, because otherwise we will move at the speed of the most reluctant, and that will be too slow.

“A number of countries and allies indicated their support. They will set that out in due course. I won’t pretend that every country is in the same place on this issue. That is why I and others took the view that we should take a leading position and move forward.”

On sanctions he said: “We introduced the heaviest sanctions last week that we’ve put in place, and (Mrs Badenoch’s) quite right they must not be lifted just because there’s a cessation in the fighting.

“They must be kept in place as a vital part of our armoury, something which didn’t happen with Minsk, and she’s quite right to say that we have to avoid the mistakes of the past, which is why a security guarantee is so important, a guarantee that we should lead, but need US backing if it’s to act as a proper guarantee.”

Published: 03/03/2025 by Radio NewsHub