Keir Starmer wants Britain to join a costly EU defence fund as he once more lambasted Brexit.
The Prime Minister – who backed a second referendum after Remain lost the 2016 vote – claimed the successful Leave campaign was based on benefits promised by his now-nemesis Nigel Farage that never materialised.
As part of his ‘reset’ in relations that will also bring us closer to the single market, he wants to restart talks on taking part in the £130billion Security Action For Europe (SAFE) fund – even though his Government balked at the high price demanded by Brussels last year.
It comes ahead of the EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic arriving in London this week for more talks on closer alignment on trade and energy.
Last week Brexit minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told MPs: ‘On participation in SAFE… I always said throughout the negotiation that I would only sign up to things that involved value for money. I did not take the view that in this case, it did offer value for money.’
But speaking on his trip to China and Japan, Sir Keir said he would be happy to join the scheme – which provides governments loans for rearmament in the wake of the Ukraine war and so also helps defence firms – if the price was right. ‘I do think on spend, capability and cooperation we need to do more together,’ the Prime Minister added.
‘I’ve made the argument and that should require us to look at schemes like SAFE and others to see whether there is a way in which we can work more closely together.
‘Whether it’s SAFE or other initiatives, it makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word – which is the EU plus other European countries – to work more closely together.’
Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) wants to restart talks on taking part in the £130billion Security Action For Europe (SAFE) fund – even though his Government balked at the high price demanded by Brussels last year
The Prime Minister claimed the successful Leave campaign was based on benefits promised by his now-nemesis Nigel Farage (pictured) that never materialised
Told that Reform leader Mr Farage believed Labour was betraying Brexit by dragging the UK closer to the EU, Sir Keir replied: ‘Let us remind ourselves that he said if we left the EU it would be £350million a week for the NHS – that didn’t happen.
‘He said if we left the EU there would be less red tape for trading into Europe – try telling that to any business that is trading into Europe.
‘He said if we left the EU regular migration would go down – it quadrupled under the Boriswave. So I wouldn’t listen too much to what Nigel Farage has to say about this.’
Reform UK said: ‘While we are yet to capitalise on many of the economic benefits of Brexit, that is mainly down to the sheer incompetence of successive Conservative and Labour governments. On the world stage there can be no doubt Britain stands far taller now that we are no longer tied to the European Union.’