Jonathan Reynolds says Britain has not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato. The UK hopes to act as a “bridge” between Europe and Donald Trump’s US, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has said before what could be a crucial week of diplomacy in deciding Ukraine’s future. With Keir Starmer expected to travel to Paris on Monday for an emergency summit of European leaders, in advance of a possible trip to Washington the following week, Reynolds said the UK had still not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato.
The US had a reasonable point in asking European nations to contribute more in defence spending towards the protection of Europe, Reynolds told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. “So that is how Europe has to respond,” he said. “I believe we in the UK can play a part, as that bridge between the US and Europe as we adjust to this new era – and it certainly is a new era. “But I think it would be wrong to portray this as some sort of fundamental breach. There is still a great deal of common ground between the US and its European allies. We must play our part in strengthening that.”.
The Paris gathering is being organised by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to come up with a joint European response to US efforts to exclude European leaders from the peace talks, as well as issues such as Ukraine’s future membership of Nato. Seeking to play down the impact of the shock to Europe of Trump setting out what appears to be a unilateral plan for an end to the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine, Reynolds said it remained possible that Ukraine may be permitted to join Nato, saying the US had “said everything is still on the table”.
But he disagreed with the speech given by Trump’s vice-president, JD Vance, to the Munich security conference on Friday. Stunning his European hosts, Vance barely mentioned Ukraine and instead delivered a culture war-heavy lecture arguing that the real threat to Europe was not Russia or China but the suppression of free speech. “We can disagree on some things and still be close allies,” Reynolds said. “I would disagree on that. I think the threat from Russia is real.”.
In his speech, Vance used the example of a British anti-abortion activist who was arrested for praying inside a “buffer zone” near an abortion clinic as an attack on religious liberties. Reynolds took issue with this: “Let’s be clear, we don’t have blasphemy laws in the UK. That’s the right thing. I say that as a Christian. No one is arrested for what they are praying about. The example he gave was about making sure people can access healthcare.”.
With the Sunday Times reporting that Starmer wants to overrule any Treasury worries and confirm an increase in UK defence spending – denied by No 10 sources – Reynolds declined to give any details but said the entire government realised the need for this. He told Sky News: “The whole cabinet, the whole government, I think most people in this country recognise the pressures the world is under, recognise more will have to be spent on defence. Now the spending review will set out the roadmap towards that target.”.
He added: “The chancellor knows more than most people the pressures on public services across the board, but defence has to be the cornerstone of our national prosperity as well as our security.”. Pushed on when there would be an increase, he said: “We will set out that roadmap. We have already put more money into defence in the first budget of this new government. So our credentials are there.”.
