The foreign secretary has said the UK and allies will not be “bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding” as the prime minister faces pressure to allow Ukraine to fire British long-range missiles into Russia.
David Lammy told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the Russian president’s threats to use nuclear weapons if the West sends more weapons to Kyiv are “totally unacceptable”.
The government is facing increasing pressure from Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow troops to fire long-range missiles into Russia, however no decision was made following talks between Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden in Washington this week.
Mr Lammy said he could not discuss the details of why a decision has not been made but added: “There’s a debate about further missiles.
Sir Keir Starmer with David Lammy during a visit to the White House this week
“And we are discussing that as allies, as you would expect us to.
“I am not going to discuss the operational detail of that…because I’m not going to assist Putin as we head into the winter.”
He added: “Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons, it’s totally unacceptable.
“We won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding.
“What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
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Lammy: ‘This is not a transparency issue’
He added Sir Keir has pledged £3 billion in aid to Ukraine and provided more missiles when asked, and will continue to support Ukraine.
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