Angela Rayner has been confronted on live TV about Donald Trump’s shocking decision overnight to suspend all US military aid to Ukraine.
In a tense interview on Good Morning Britain, the Deputy PM refused to condemn the US President and said the decision was a matter for him. She said Keir Starmer will “continue” to speak with Mr Trump and was “laser-focused” on securing peace but would not say whether he’d call up the American politician and ask him to reverse the aid suspension.
Challenged over whether the government was “blindsided” by the US’s pause on military aid, the Cabinet minister said: “Well, the Prime Minister set out yesterday and I think he made it very clear that our focus – we won’t be blindsided or bounced from the focus of getting peace for Ukraine with those security guarantees.”
Pressed on her judgement on the US halting billions in aid, Ms Rayner insisted the Government will not be “side tracked” by US decisions and said the UK will be an “honest broker” working with the US and Europe, as well as supporting Ukraine. She added to the BBC: “The Prime Minister will not be derailed and will continue to work with our oldest ally the US, and our European partners in Ukraine to be laser-focused on getting that peace for Ukraine.”
Ms Rayner emphasised that the PM has also set out how the UK has stepped up in terms of its support for Ukraine, including a £1.6billion funding boost from UK export finance to buy 5,000 air defence missiles.
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Confirming a pause on aid, a White House official last night said Mr Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants “committed” to that goal. The official said the US was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution”.
Elsewhere Mr Trump is reportedly drawing up plans to give Russia sanctions relief, according to sources. The US is now said to be looking to repair relations with Moscow by giving Russia sanctions relief, a US official and another person close the matter told Reuters.
It follows a tense Oval Office bust-up which saw Mr Trump and his sidekick JD Vance launch a vile diatribe at Mr Zelensky last week. Allies led by Britain and France have spent recent days scrambling to find a way forward following the row, which ended with Mr Zelensky leaving the White House empty-handed despite plans to sign a minerals deal with the US.
The Prime Minister has said the proposed minerals deal between the US and Ukraine is “not enough” of a security guarantee on its own. He has been drafting up a peace plan with Ukraine and France to present to the US and has insisted it needs American backing for it to be a success.
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But Mr Trump, who has led the push for a peace deal with Vladimir Putin, last night said the European demand for US guarantees was showing weakness to the Kremlin. He also criticised Volodymyr Zelensky for suggesting a deal to end the war with Russia “is still very, very far away”.
Mr Starmer’s own trip to Washington last week went as well as No 10 could have hoped, with Mr Trump indicating he would not block the Chagos Islands deal and suggesting a trade agreement could spare British exports from US tariffs.
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