MPs will have a debate and vote before any UK troops are deployed on peacekeeping duties in Ukraine, Keir Starmer has announced at prime minister’s questions.
Speaking after Britain and France said they would be willing to send troops if there was a peace deal, following discussions at a wider summit in Paris, Starmer was pressed by Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, as to why he was not making a full Commons statement.
In response, Starmer said the debate and vote would happen in the event troops were being deployed, at which point there would be details about how many would be sent.
“Yesterday, I stood side by side with our European and American allies and President Zelenskyy at the coalition of the willing meeting in Paris,” Starmer said in introductory remarks.
“We made real progress on security guarantees, which are vital for securing a just and lasting peace. Along with President Macron and President Zelenskyy, we agreed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces in the event of a peace deal.
“We will set out the details in a statement at the earliest opportunity. I will keep the house updated as the situation develops and were troops to be deployed under the declaration signed, I would put that matter to the house for a vote.”
In response, Badenoch said she welcomed Starmer’s efforts on Ukraine, and a joint European statement about US threats to seize Greenland, but said it was “astonishing that the prime minister is not making a full statement to parliament today”.
She added: “No prime minister, Labour or Conservative, has failed to make a statement to the house in person after committing to the deployment of British troops. His comments about making a statement in due course, quite frankly, are not good enough.”
In reply, Starmer said a statement was not needed because the decision over troops was a political declaration that “sits under” existing military plans drawn up months earlier.
Deployment of troops, which would “conduct deterrent operations and to construct and protect military hubs”, would happen only after a ceasefire, he said.
Starmer added: “The number will be determined in accordance with our military plans, which we are drawing up and looking to other members to support. So the number I will put before the house before we were to deploy.
“But I’ll do more than that. If we went as far as a legal instrument to deploy, which would be necessary, I would then have a debate in this house so all members could know exactly what we’re doing, make their points of view, and then we would have a vote in this house on the issue, which is the proper procedure in a situation such as this.”
This appeared to only partly satisfy the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, who said he would like an “early statement”.
In other questions, Badenoch called the fact that Starmer had still not spoken to Donald Trump four days after the US military intervention in Venezuela “concerning”, and urged the prime minister to call a meeting of Nato leaders over Greenland.
Starmer responded by noting that when he attended the main Nato summit in June, Badenoch had criticised him for missing PMQs to attend it.
