Sir Keir Starmer will mark Armistice Day at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, in what signifies a major step in his plans to build bridges with one of the EU’s strongest powers ahead of a Brexit reset.
The prime minister has been personally invited by Emmanuel Macron, with the two leaders expected to discuss Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East amid other foreign policy issues.
During the morning, Sir Keir will host veterans, defence charities and British military personnel at the ambassador’s residence, and is also expected to meet the new French prime minister Michel Barnier.
The meetings come less than a week after it was confirmed that Donald Trump will be returning to the White House in January having been re-elected US president.
There are concerns over what a second Trump term could mean for US support for Kyiv and NATO.
The defence secretary John Healey insisted he expected the US to stand by Ukraine for “as long as it takes to prevail over (Vladimir) Putin’s invasion”, and the world will have to “wait and see” what he proposes after assuming power.
Key Points
- Starmer makes historic Armistice trip in big Brexit reset move to woo Macron
- PM’s visit to France shows ‘close relationship’ between leaders
- Defence secretary says he expects US to stand by Ukraine
Starmer and Macron lay wreath at Winston Churchill statue
10:30
Holly Evans
As part of the commemorations of Armistice Day in Paris, Sir Keir Starmer and the French President Emmanuel Macron have laid a wreath at the Winston Churchill statue in Paris.
The two also travelled in an open roof car to review troops around the Arc de Triomphe.
In pictures: Macron and Starmer observe minute’s silence for Armistice Day
10:21
Holly Evans
Why party-loving Karen Pierce is key to reviving Starmer’s relationship with Trump
10:16
Holly Evans
The morning after Donald Trump’s election, Britain’s top diplomat to the United States posted a photograph of herself wearing a wide-brimmed hat and orange dress, standing next to Trump in the Oval Office — presumably taken during his first administration. “We look forward to deepening our already profound and successful partnership as we deal with the challenges of the 21st century,” she wrote.
Dame Karen Pierce knows diplomacy. So well, in fact, that if the rumours turn out to be true, despite her four-year term ending, Sir Keir Starmer will reappoint her as the UK’s ambassador to the US – a move that will acknowledge just how adept the 65-year-old has proven in the delicate task of handling Trump.
It’s a role that it’s fair to say she’s probably more than happy remaining in, too. In April, she told a party in the gardens of the British embassy at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue that she would have “to be dragged out of here by my fingernails” – despite the fact that David Miliband, Baroness Amos and Lord Mandelson were all tipped for her job. But Pierce has something they don’t: Trump experience.
Read our full analysis from Alex Hannaford here:
Why we won’t get better trade deals out of Trump or the EU
09:58
Holly Evans
This week Rachel Reeves will use her Mansion House speech in the City of London to “promote free and open trade between nations”. The word is that the chancellor is “expected to be clear that she will take the fight to Washington in defence of free trade”.
With Donald Trump having just seen one female progressive politician off so recently, Reeves is displaying considerable pluck in squaring up to the nascent Maga administration.
Perhaps, some such as Kemi Badenoch argue, Reeves should instead take the opportunity to seize the most valuable of Brexit opportunities, and press president-elect Trump for the free trade deal with the United States we’ve been yearning for ever since that fateful referendum eight and a half years ago.
Read the full article from Sean O’Grady here:
Starmer and Macron hold minute of silence
09:49
Holly Evans
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have greeted members of the defence community and military officials in Paris, as they observed a minute’s silence.
The event marks the 106th anniversary of Armistice Day, which brought the First World War to an end.
Trump to target EU over UK in trade war as he wants to see ‘successful Brexit’
09:42
Holly Evans
A possible trade war with the US will not be as bad as feared, a former political appointee in the last Trump administration has said – claiming the president-elect will target the European Union more significantly than Britain as he wants to see a “successful Brexit”.
Peggy Grande, who was a political appointee for Donald Trump, told The Independent he is likely to give a “preferential trade deal to the UK” and she thinks tariffs will “more greatly affect the EU than the UK”.
It comes amid fears of a global trade war, after the Republican politician pledged to impose levies of 10 per cent on all goods imports from US trading partners, and up to 60 per cent and 100 per cent for China and Mexico.
Read the full article here:
Defence secretary rejects reports Ukraine unhappy with Labour government
09:28
Holly Evans
Defence secretary John Healey has rejected reported comments by Ukrainian officials suggesting Kyiv is unhappy with the Labour Government’s level of support.
He said it is “simply not correct” to say the situation is not the same as it was under Rishi Sunak and has worsened under the new administration.
It comes after the Guardian reported officials in Kyiv as having said relations have deteriorated since Labour took office and voiced frustration over Britain’s failure to provide additional long-range weapons.
Asked about the reported remarks, Mr Healey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That is simply not correct.
“We’ve stepped up with more military support. We’ve speeded up deliveries. We’re now spending more on military aid for Ukraine than ever before as a UK Government, and I spoke at length to the defence minister in Ukraine yesterday.
“He certainly doesn’t see the UK support weakening, and he said the Ukrainians are confident in Britain’s continuing and steadfast support for their country.”
Starmer to travel to Champs Elysées to lay wreaths and review troops
09:22
Holly Evans
Following their bilateral meeting, Sir Keir Starmer is due to attend the annual Armistice Day commemorations in Paris, marking the first time a British prime minister has done so since the Second World War.
Alongside Emmanuel Macron, he will travel to the Champs Elysées to lay a wreath in front of the statue of Georges Clemenceau and the statue of Winston Churchill.
They will also then travel to the Place de l’Etoile to review the troops around the Arc de Triomphe, and lay a wreath in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Britain should move past ‘special relationship’ with US, Lord Mandelson claims
09:07
Holly Evans
Britain should move past the “special relationship” with the US, the frontrunner to become the UK’s next ambassador in Washington has said.
Peter Mandelson is a favourite to replace Dame Karen Pierce, who is overseeing the transition to Donald Trump’s second administration.
The Labour grandee, a key architect of Tony Blair’s New Labour, said it is time for a “new relationship” with the US.
Read the full article from Archie Mitchell here:
Watch live: Starmer becomes first UK prime minister since Churchill to mark Armistice Day in France
09:03
Holly Evans
‘Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts,’ says Healey
08:54
Holly Evans
John Healey said it is “Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts” after a Trump ally appeared to suggest that the war could end if Kyiv was open to ceding land to Russia.
The Defence Secretary told BBC Breakfast: “Because of the strength of bipartisan support in the US and a recognition that it’s in no one’s interest to let an aggressor like (Vladimir) Putin redraw international boundaries by force, I expect the US to remain steadfast alongside countries like the UK.
“We can do more to support Ukraine. We’re doing that at the moment, and that will be part of the discussion that Prime Minister Starmer has with President (Emmanuel) Macron this morning in Paris.”
Asked what the UK’s reaction to the suggestion that the war could come to a conclusion if there was support within Ukraine to give away land to Russia, he said: “It’s Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts. Our job is to support Ukraine, stand by them when they fight, stand by them if they decide to talk.
“This could be ended today if Putin withdrew following his illegal invasion… that’s the way this conflict could be ended, and the importance for us for Europe and for the United States is that Putin in the long run does not prevail, because if he does prevail, he will not stop at Ukraine, and the cost to us all will be much greater in the future.”
In pictures: Starmer hugs Emmanuel Macron ahead of Paris meeting
08:49
Holly Evans
UK must boost ties with EU following Trump’s re-election, Starmer told
08:45
Holly Evans
The prime minister is being urged to bolster the UK’s relationship with the European Union following Donald Trump’s re-election, as a senior EU official argues there is a “big opportunity” for closer ties.
Sandro Gozi, the new chair of the European delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, told The Independent the bloc is looking to put academic cooperation, a youth free-movement deal and conversations about artificial intelligence on the table.
Mr Gozi’s intervention comes as politicians in the UK say the result of the US election should be a “wake-up call” for Sir Keir Starmer after Mr Trump swept to victory on 5 November.
Read the full article here:
World will have to ‘wait and see’ what Trump proposes over Ukraine
08:41
Holly Evans
The world will have to “wait and see” what Donald Trump “really proposes” over Ukraine, John Healey said.
The Defence Secretary told BBC Breakfast: “We’ll have to wait and see what President Trump really proposes… but if the reports of his call with (Vladimir) Putin last week are right then President Trump is exactly right to warn Putin against escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
“And our task as a nation supporting Ukraine, one of its leading supporters, alongside allies like France, is to step up our support to reinforce the position that Ukraine has at this period where it’s under great pressure from Russia.”
Starmer meets with UK military personnel and Chelsea Pensioners
08:35
Holly Evans
The prime minister has travelled to Paris to join Emmanuel Macron to mark Armistice Day.
Ahead of the major commemoration events, Sir Keir Starmer is meeting with Chelsea Pensioners, and British officers embedded with foreign military forces.
US turning from Nato would not leave UK in ‘weak position'
08:24
Holly Evans
John Healey denied that the US turning away from Nato would leave the UK in a “weak position”.
Asked whether the loss of US backing would put us in “a very weak and exposed position”, the Defence Secretary told Sky News: “No, we wouldn’t be in a weak position.
“I don’t expect the US to turn away from Nato. They recognise the importance of the alliance. They recognise the importance of avoiding further conflict in Europe.”
He said the US support for Nato “goes back decades, and that has remained, including through the previous President Trump administration”.
“He pushed, rightly, he pushed European nations to do more, to front Nato better,” Mr Healey added.
Defence secretary says he expects US to stand by Ukraine
08:21
Holly Evans
The Defence Secretary insisted he expects the US to stand by Ukraine for “as long as it takes to prevail over (Vladimir) Putin’s invasion” amid questions over the future of US support under Donald Trump.
John Healey said he thought the president-elect “recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like Nato do” and American “determination” to continue backing Ukraine is “just as strong”.
Asked whether Ukraine’s safety had diminished since Mr Trump’s election win, Mr Healey told Sky News: “No, I don’t. The US alongside the UK have been two of the leading countries that have been standing by Ukraine, supporting Ukraine, our determination to do so is just as strong.”
He added: “As far as President Trump goes, he recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like Nato do, and I expect the US to remain alongside allies like the UK, standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail over Putin’s invasion.”
Starmer’s visit to France shows ‘close relationship’ between leaders
08:14
Holly Evans
Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to France to commemorate Armistice Day is a reminder that “we can never take the freedoms we enjoy in Europe for granted”, the Defence Secretary said.
The Prime Minister is attending commemorations across the Channel to mark “a special year” and the “close relationship” between London and Paris, John Healey said.
The Prime Minister is the first to visit France for Armistice Day since Winston Churchill joined Charles de Gaulle in 1944.
Asked why Sir Keir was making the trip, Mr Healey told Sky News: “This is a special year. We mark 80 years D-Day invasions and some of the critical battles that liberated Europe and ended the Second World War.
“This is also a mark of the close relationship between the two leaders, between (President Emmanuel) Macron and Starmer, but also the historic bonds between our two countries and our two militaries.”
He added that the visit was “very fitting” and a reminder that “we can never take the freedoms we enjoy in Europe for granted”.
Read the full story: Starmer makes historic Armistice trip in big Brexit reset move to woo Macron
08:10
Holly Evans
Sir Keir Starmer is set to be the first UK leader to attend a French Armistice Day ceremony since the Second World War following a personal invitation from Emmanuel Macron, in what is a major step in his plans for a Brexit reset.
The prime minister, who has put a revival of relations with Brussels at the heart of his mission, will attend 106th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918 in Paris on Monday, becoming the first UK leader to attend the ceremony since Winston Churchill in 1944. Paris had been liberated that summer.
Amid the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s administration in Germany, Sir Keir will be keen to woo the French president and build bridges with one of the EU’s strongest powers.
Read the full story here:
Welcome to our live blog
08:09
Holly Evans
Welcome to our live coverage as Sir Keir Starmer meets with Emmanuel Macron to mark Armistice Day in Paris.
The two leaders are expected to discuss Ukraine, NATO and Trump’s second presidency as the prime minister hopes to strengthen his relationship with the French president.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest.