Sir Keir Starmer was handed a personalised revolver loaded with live ammunition as a gift from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Nato summit in Ankara – a spectacle of Turkish hospitality and ruthless authoritarian efficiency that saw roughly 70,000 personnel secure the event, almost double the number at last year's summit in The Hague.
The outgoing prime minister later said Donald Trump had wished him well and that they would stay in touch, despite Trump having previously mocked him as “no Winston Churchill” over the UK’s refusal to permit the use of its bases for US-Israel strikes on Iran. “Yes he did, and we’re going to stay in touch,” Starmer told reporters.
“Keir Starmer received a personalised revolver with live ammo from Erdogan at Nato summit, as he vowed to stay in touch with Trump.”
The revolver, engraved with Starmer’s name, was one of a set given to each Nato leader in attendance. British officials in Turkey are expected to decommission the firearm so it can no longer fire live rounds. The bullets, Starmer’s team noted, did not have anyone’s name on them.
The summit itself was a showcase of Erdogan’s brand of governance. Journalists were showered with Turkish delights, perfumes and porcelain coffee cups; white Angora kittens were introduced to cooing reporters in the press centre. All protests had been banned in the weeks leading up to the event, and hundreds of Nato critics and left-wing activists were arrested. While Trump praised the spectacle, some liberal Atlanticists present voiced unease, viewing it as a departure from democratic norms.
But the Trump administration sees the summit as a validation of its “Nato 3.0” vision – a return to the alliance’s Cold War purpose of European deterrence and defence, with Europeans taking on more of the burden. The concept, advanced by Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, has been embraced by Nato officials. One senior official cited the “simultaneity problem” – the fear that the US might have to fight multiple major conflicts at once – as the reason “why Europeans are stepping up and taking more responsibility for their own defence”.
Starmer, who announced his resignation as Labour leader last month, stressed that his relationship with Trump had always been positive. “We’ve always got on as two individuals,” he said. “That is important because it really matters in politics to have a relationship that is a working relationship.” He described the UK-US strategic alliance as “hugely important” in defence and security matters, with the two countries working “together 24/7”.
Only one candidate – Andy Burnham – is currently in the running to replace Starmer, and could become prime minister on 20 July. The contest to succeed him will determine who next sits across the table from Trump as the alliance rewrites its rulebook.
