Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that his attendance at the NATO summit in Washington DC demonstrates that the UK has a strong commitment to aiding its allies and confronting Russian aggression.
He said US president Joe Biden was “in good form” and, on the domestic front, that the current state of the prison system is a “terrible failure” of the previous Government.
In a discussion with GB News’ Political Editor Christopher Hope in Washington DC, where he is attending a NATO summit, Sir Keir said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be here within the first week of having formed a Labour government in 2024, talking to our allies, being absolutely clear about our commitment to NATO, and joining them in our resolve to stand up to Russian aggression, particularly in relation to Ukraine.
“So it’s a good early opportunity for me to set out my priorities, to obviously engage with other international leaders.
“We’ve got another European gathering in the UK next week so, to have that within the first two week or so of an incoming Labour government is a really good opportunity to address core value stuff about the commitment to NATO, the importance of defence of Ukraine, and in my bilateral with the president here in the US yesterday, to be very clear about the nature of an importance of the special relationship between our two countries.”
Asked if closer ties to the EU would help the special relationship between the UK and USA, he said: “Well, I've been clear with international leaders here that we do want to reset the relationship with each of the individual countries, whether they're EU or not.
“But more broadly, and of course, you know, this being a NATO summit, NATO is the cornerstone of our defence in Europe and working with our European allies on defence is never been more important than it is at the moment, facing a lot of threats across the world, probably more now than we have for many years.
“That was recognised in the council session yesterday. And what was good is to know that this summit represents a bigger NATO, more countries, a stronger NATO and a NATO with an increased resolve, particularly when it comes to Ukraine.
He said his meeting with Joe Biden lasted longer than planned: “I was with him on a bilateral for…well it was going to be 45 minutes. It ended up being the best part of an hour.
“We went through a number of issues…strategic issues and I was keen and he was keen that we thrash out and talk it through. He was on good form and we covered a lot of ground.
“Look, he was on very good form and I was very pleased to have that opportunity to discuss these issues with him. And not least the question of our special relationship, which is very important to him, very important to me, and very important to our two countries.”
On domestic issues, he said he was surprised at the state the Conservatives had left the prison system in: “Well, look, I'm shocked to be in this position, if I'm honest. Particularly having worked in criminal justice.
“It is a basic function of government that there should be enough prison places for the number of people that the courts are sending to prison. That basic premise broke down under the last government, that is beyond irresponsible.
“We're going to have to pick up that mess. And they ignored it…
“I can't build a prison in seven days, with the best will in the world. It is clearly a problem left by the last government. There's no issue about that. We cannot be in this terrible state. And they ignored the problem, didn't fix the problem.
“We are going to have to fix it. We [will] have to make short-term measures and we will announce that in due course and then of course we'll have to do the further measures.
“But I simply can't build a prison in seven days. This is a terrible failure of government by the last government.”
Sir Keir said changes to the planning system to enable more houses to be built had to be done with the consent of local communities.
“We need to get building again,” he said. “We need to get our economy growing again. Of course, we want to do that with communities, not to communities. But we're going to have to change our planning rules.
“Too many projects are held up for too long. Housing projects taking 15 years from plan to spade in the ground. That's not sustainable. But we'll do it with communities.
“If you look at what communities are most concerned about, if there is going to be housing, they want to know is there schooling, is there a health provision, is the infrastructure? All that needs to be done properly.
“When it comes to wider infrastructure, let's say in relation to energy, I do think that we can talk to communities about what the benefit is to them of the infrastructure. So we'll do it with communities. But I'm not going to shy away from the fact we are going to take tough decisions.
“We're going to get it on. We are going to get Britain building again. We're going to make sure that living standards improve across the country and that people feel better off.”
The Prime Minister said he would be in Berlin on Sunday to support the England team in the final match of the Euro 2024 tournament: “This is a brilliant team. I've always, notwithstanding some of the early games, I've always believed in this team. I think they’re very good.
“I have been to these finals before. I went to the last one. I'm hoping that with this team we can bring it home. But look, I think a whole country will be willing them on when it gets to Sunday.”
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