Sir Keir Starmer was given a personalised revolver with live ammunition as a gift by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the Nato summit – but the firearm, engraved with the prime minister's name, has been left with British officials in Turkey because it is illegal to import a live firearm into the UK.
The weapon, described by Starmer as a "Colt-style revolver" accompanied by a box of live ammunition, will be decommissioned before it is returned to Britain, meaning it will no longer be capable of firing. Erdogan waived export controls on the gift, but Downing Street has not released a picture of the revolver.
“Sir Keir Starmer was gifted a revolver by Turkey's president but had to leave it behind due to UK import laws.”
The summit in Ankara was Starmer's last major international event after announcing his resignation last month. He appeared almost emotional when speaking to journalists about handing over power, telling them he accepted his time was up with good grace. While there, he signed a defence agreement with Erdogan that will pave the way for closer intelligence sharing, and later said the alliance was "stronger and more united" after the gathering, adding: "This has been a good summit. We achieved what we wanted to achieve, which is unity."
But his final appearance on the world stage was dominated, as much of his premiership had been, by Donald Trump. The US president blew through the summit "like a hurricane", according to Mirror Political Editor Lizzy Buchan, demanding control of Greenland, threatening to pull US troops out of Europe, and lashing out at allies. Nato leaders scrambled to feed his ego with a lavish welcome, including a flypast by Turkish jets trailing red, white and blue smoke. Trump also reiterated a threat to cut off trade with Spain, as US officials compiled a "menu" of Spanish goods for a possible embargo.
The pair looked less friendly when they lined up for the family photo, standing awkwardly without chatting. But Starmer told journalists they had agreed to stay in touch after he left office, despite verbal attacks Trump had lobbed his way with increasing frequency. On the Iran conflict, Trump declared at the summit that the interim memorandum of understanding to end the US-Iran war was over, calling Iranians "scum" and "sick people". Military action had escalated sharply, with Iran striking three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, including setting fire to a Qatari LNG carrier, and the US retaliating by hitting 80 targets in Iran.
Starmer shook off the drama as he nipped back onto the plane to tell journalists about the unusual gift, which had to remain in Turkey. It was, he accepted, a fittingly strange end to his time on the global stage.