Keir Starmer arrived at his final Nato summit as prime minister on Wednesday with a £37bn missile project in his pocket and a bank holiday for England’s World Cup hopes on his mind.
The prime minister convened around a dozen leaders in Ankara for talks on the Deep Precision Strike – a long-range missile billed as one of Nato’s most advanced weapons. Twelve countries, including the UK, will spend more than £37bn over the next 10 years on the project, which can strike targets nearly 200 miles away with pinpoint accuracy, possibly extending to 1,250 miles. It is not expected to be ready until the 2030s.
“Starmer announces £37bn Nato missile project and hints at England World Cup bank holiday at final summit.”
“This is part of a recognition that we’re in a more dangerous world,” said Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. “With deep precision strike capability, the UK and our allies will be able to hit high value military targets and the logistical engines that drive armies, deterring any aggressor.”
Starmer said the programme would “help bring European allies together to keep Nato safe for years to come”. The government noted that Nato had scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian aircraft more than 700 times and that Russian activity around UK waters had surged 30%.
At the summit, Donald Trump – who has repeatedly pressed allies to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 – thanked the UK for its contribution, Starmer said. The US president shared a chart showing the UK second in real terms over the past decade, though 12th out of 32 members on spending as a share of GDP. Despite Trump’s recent description of the UK as a “deindustrialised welfare zone”, Starmer declined to comment. “Having resisted so far, I’m not going to be tempted,” he said, adding that the pair had “got along really well” and would “stay in touch”. “That is important in terms of the relationship between the UK and the US,” he said.
Amid the defence talks, Starmer dropped his heaviest hint yet that England fans could get a day off if Thomas Tuchel’s men win the World Cup. Asked whether he would grant a bank holiday, he told reporters: “On the question of a bank holiday, I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final.” Downing Street is understood to be preparing for the idea, with the day most likely falling on the Friday after the final, possibly coinciding with a victory parade. The Scottish Government approved a bank holiday last month for Scotland’s first World Cup fixture in 28 years.
Starmer also joked about being inundated with messages to overturn Jarrell Quansah’s red card, after Trump put pressure on FIFA to lift a ban on US star Folarin Balogun. “I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve had to rescind the red card,” he said. “I haven’t attempted to do that. But look, I don’t want to jinx all this. I thought we were fantastic the other night against Mexico.”
As England prepare for a quarter-final clash with Norway on Saturday, Starmer bantered with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere. “We’re very strategically aligned,” he said, “but for 90 minutes on Saturday evening, we’ll have to go our different ways.”