A government minister has rebuked Labour MP Diane Abbott for claiming that the threat from Russia has been made up by Nato, a minister has said.
Anna Turley criticised the veteran Labour MP’s comments, made on social media on Wednesday, and said the government stands “wholeheartedly behind Ukraine”.
Ms Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, had criticised plans to hike defence spending, writing on social media site X: “The imminent threat from Russia is a Nato fiction to justify their complete capitulation to Trump’s demands for more military spending. The increase should not go ahead.”
The comments came just a day after Germany pinned the blame on Russia for a drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.
Russian officials have engaged in sabre-rattling against Western nations in recent weeks, threatening to strike against the military targets in UK and other countries for providing support to Ukraine.
Asked about Ms Abbott’s comments on Times Radio on Thursday morning, Home Office minister Anna Turley said: “I completely disagree with Diane Abbott, I’m afraid. I think she’s wrong on this.
“We’ve been very clear in our commitment to Ukraine. The Prime Minister has met President Zelensky and avowed our support for their nation in a steadfast way, as we have been as a Labour government and cross-party on this issue as well.
“So, I’m afraid I fundamentally disagree with Diane Abbott on that. We stand wholeheartedly behind Ukraine in this country.”
Ms Abbott was readmitted to the Labour Party in July, after a year-long suspension from the party for repeating comments about racism for which she had previously apologised.
She had previously been suspended and investigated by the party over a letter to The Observer newspaper in 2023, in which she suggested that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice, but not racism.
The long-serving MP was subsequently readmitted to the party in time to contest her seat at the 2024 general election.
Andy Burnham is under pressure to ramp up Britain’s defence spending at his first Budget in the face of mounting Russian aggression and increasing global turbulence.
While the chancellor has insisted he is “100 per cent” committed to a target of increasing spending to 3 per cent of GDP, and is now offering a timeline in which he will do so, there are questions over how the increase will be funded.
On Monday, Vladimir Putin claimed it is a "military secret” whether or not Russia is weighing up possible strikes on British military sites, in an ominous new warning over the UK’s support for Ukraine.
The UK last month agreed to provide Ukraine with blueprints for the Scalp weapon, a version of the British Storm Shadow missile, which Britain has already provided to Kyiv and can be used to hit more targets within Russia itself.
Asked how Russia will respond to the decision – and whether he is weighing up possible strikes on UK military sites on British territory – the Russian president said: “That's a secret, a military secret”.
He added that “any military facilities in Ukraine are our legitimate target, British or otherwise”.
It comes just days after Russia accused the UK of “playing with fire” following Andy Burnham’s approval to let Ukraine access the classified long-range cruise missile tech.
But hitting back on a visit to Kyiv, the UK prime minister said: "Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”, making reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started the war.
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