UK and France agree to co-ordinate on nuclear deterrent
The UK and France will co-ordinate more closely over nuclear deterrent plans, with any adversaries “threatening the vital interests” of either nations set to face a joint response to attacks.
In a new agreement struck between Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, the two countries will work together on nuclear research and take a more aligned approach to defence while maintaining independence.
Starmer, who welcomed the French president to a state visit this week, said the agreement would take the two countries’ partnership “to the next level”.
“We stand ready to use our shared might to advance our joint capabilities – equipping us for the decades to come while supporting thousands of UK jobs and keeping our people safe,” he said.
The wider agreement, which also includes the purchase of revamped long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles and development of high-tech jammers that can be used to shoot down drones, has been dubbed the “Entente Industrielle”.
Jobs at the manufacturer MBDA in Stevenage are set to be supported by the agreement with workers helping to upgrade Storm Shadow missiles, which have been used by Ukraine to fire inside Russia.
The new arrangement will also see the two countries advance in new technology for fighter jets and AI use in drone attacks by “developing algorithms for synchronised strikes”.
Nuclear ambitions
The fresh agreement follows a landmark Nato summit in the Hague where leaders agreed to invest at least 3.5 per cent of GDP into defence by 2035, plus a further 1.5 per cent in capital investment to protect key infrastructure.
Allied nations involved in talks to create a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine’s defence are expected to join a call on Thursday to discuss supp, with President Zelensky dialling in from a summit being held in Rome.
Starmer has taken a leading role in defence negotiations since President Trump acceded to the White House in January, with the UK committing to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent as a share of GDP by 2027.
But the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has suggested that unfunded commitments to 2035 posed a risk to public finances while economists at leading think tanks have claimed that taxes will have to rise to allow the UK to strengthen its armed forces.
UK officials have argued that their strategic insights have allowed them to maintain credibility on the world stage, providing support to military leaders in Ukraine and working closely in the Five Eyes to monitor threats from Iran and Russia.
Blaise Metreweli, the first female head of the MI6, has previously raised alarm about the threat of China.
But a recent audit of the threats it posed to the UK received criticism from chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Emily Thornberry for leaving decision-makers “operating in the dark” and raising “more questions than answers”.
“Presumably there isn’t just an audit, there is a strategy coming from that,” she said in written evidence to the committee on Tuesday.
“We haven’t seen the audit and we don’t know what’s in the strategy – which should apply to government, local government, business, universities and particularly the technology sector.”
Foreign secretary David Lammy said the UK would “continue to confront China’s dangerous and destabilising activity in the South China Sea” near the Philippines and Taiwan while adding that the country offered “economic value”.