Wes Streeting: Britain and Europe must get out of ‘defensive crouch’
LIVERPOOL, England — Britain and Europe need to get out of their “defensive crouch,” Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Monday, as he argued that U.S. pressure on European allies will ultimately result in a stronger Europe.
Speaking at the POLITICO Pub at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Streeting added that he believes that America’s frustration over “European over-reliance” on the U.S. has “not been unique to the Trump administration.”
The defense secretary said that, contrary to “the perception that the U.S. is somehow disengaging from Europe,” he has “experienced the exact opposite” — despite the ongoing U.S. review into pulling various troops and capabilities from across the continent.
British-American relations soured towards the end of Keir Starmer’s tenure as prime minister, after Britain refused to give the U.S. military support for its war with Iran, including the full use of British military bases for strikes on Iran. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Labour government is now seeking to repair the alliance.
Part of the challenge from Donald Trump’s administration to Britain is to raise defense spending to record post-World War II levels. Britain doesn’t currently have a costed plan to reach its NATO commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2030.
Ahead of next month’s budget, he said that Chancellor John Healey doesn’t need persuading about the importance of raising defense spending as he previously resigned on this issue as a point of principle, Streeting said.
“I don’t want any complacency,” Streeting continued, adding: “We can’t just send in John Healey’s resignation letter as our submission to the spending review.”
However, he noted that he no longer gets asked how he is cutting waste and bureaucracy since leaving his position of Health Secretary for the Ministry of Defence, despite the fact that procurement challenges have “plagued the MoD.”
Fairford latest
Streeting also declined to elaborate on Donald Trump’s comments regarding the arrest of five Britons under suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack near RAF Fairford on Sunday, except to thank the farmer who reported suspicious activity to the police.
“I would also say respectfully to her [the farmer] she has only a partial view about what was going on, and so in that spirit, I want to underscore my thanks, the thanks of the government and the thanks of the president of the United States for the work that our police, Counter Terrorism Policing, and security services do to keep us safe, and the actions they’ve taken at RAF Fairford.”
He also rejected suggestions that Britain’s closeness to the U.S. has made the U.K. the target for potential attacks: “That alliance makes us more safe, not less safe. Having the Americans at RAF Fairford makes us more safe, not less safe.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Streeting rejected reports that the U.K. is involved in negotiations with Germany over Berlin potentially helping fund Britain’s nuclear weapons program.
“I’ve not taken part in those sorts of discussions at this stage,” he said.
