Britain could do ‘untold damage’ to adversaries with its nuclear weapons, the Defence Secretary has said in a stark warning to Vladimir Putin.
John Healey insisted the deterrent was the ‘ultimate guarantor’ of the UK’s security amid rising tensions and questions about the Nato alliance.
Keir Starmer also sent a message to Moscow that there will be ‘severe consequences’ if it breaches any peace deal with Kyiv.
The tough stance came as Sir Keir and Mr Healey met defence officials from 31 allied countries at the Northwood military headquarters in London yesterday.
And they laid the keel for Dreadnought, the first submarine being built to replace the Vanguard-class , in a ceremony in Barrow-in-Furness.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Healey said: ‘Our nuclear deterrent is there as a deterrent. It is the ultimate guarantor to any would-be adversary. We have the power to do untold damage to them if they attack us.’
He added: ‘We should not fight shy of the fact we are a nuclear power, that we do have an independent nuclear deterrent.’
The PM said the military planning involved offering support to Ukraine by air, sea and land if a deal were reached.
But he ruled out redeploying UK troops from countries such as Estonia to commit to Kyiv, saying: ‘There’s no pulling back from our commitments to other countries.
‘The mood in the room – because this came up in the private briefing I had – was that this actually will help reinforce what we’re doing in Nato in other countries, so they see it as an opportunity rather than a question of moving troops around.’
Sir Keir said: ‘It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.
‘We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again.’
He added: ‘The point of the security arrangements is to make it clear to Russia there will be severe consequences if they are to breach any deal.
‘That’s why we need a forward-leaning European element, which is what I’ve been working on intensely – obviously with the French – that brings these allied countries together, and beyond.’
Western allies have been increasingly alarmed at the apparent shift in the US attitude since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
He has launched negotiations with Russia while criticising Volodymyr Zelensky, including an extraordinary public slanging match in the Oval Office.
Kyiv has agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Putin effectively rejected the idea in a call with Mr Trump this week.
Instead, he agreed to a suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure – although Ukraine says other civilian targets including a hospital have been struck.
Putin has also demanded a complete stop on all military and intelligence support to Ukraine as the price of a deal. Russia currently occupies around a fifth of the country following a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Speaking from the White House yesterday, Mr Trump said that ‘we’re doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia’.
‘We spoke yesterday with, as you know, President Putin and President Zelensky, and we would love to see that come to an end, and I think we’re doing pretty well in that regard, so hopefully we can save thousands of people a week from dying.’
Mr Zelensky said he believes a ‘lasting peace can be achieved this year’ after his call with Mr Trump.
In the same call, the US leader suggested that Washington could take ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security.
However, Mr Zelensky later told journalists their conversation focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control.
He has made it clear that ‘the issue of ownership’ of the other three plants was never discussed.
‘All nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine,’ Mr Zelensky said.