Sir Keir Starmer is close to striking a major deal with the EU that would let British arms companies sell billions of pounds of weapons to European allies, it has emerged.
Under the agreement, UK companies would be able to bid for business under the bloc’s new €150 billion (£130 billion) defence fund.
But the deal comes after the UK reportedly made major concessions to Brussels on EU access to Britain’s fishing waters, in what critics will likely see as a betrayal of Brexit.
The EU last month unveiled its “Readiness 2030” security strategy as part of a drive to break its dependence on the US amid heightened Russian aggression.
The strategy included an easing of budget rules to create the multi-billion pound loan plan focused on buying defence equipment in Europe rather than suppliers in the US.
But British firms were set to be excluded from the loan plan unless a defence and security pact with the EU could be struck, with fishing rights emerging as a major sticking point.
There is reportedly growing confidence in Downing Street that an agreement can be reached ahead of a crunch UK-EU summit on May 19. “The mood music is good,” a British defence industry source told The Times.
The breakthrough followed British negotiators softening their stance on fishing, preparing to accept EU demands for a multi-year deal accessing fishing waters. The UK will reportedly grant a multi-year deal for European fishermen and freeze quotas, rather than reducing the bloc’s access further.
It comes as Sir Keir also looks to strengthen Britain’s defence ties with New Zealand, hosting the country’s prime minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday.
More than 54,000 Ukrainians have already received training under Operation Interflex, and Mr Luxon is expected to confirm on Tuesday that New Zealand will extend its support for the programme to the end of the year.
And in a further show of support for Ukraine, Sir Keir is expected to announce a deal worth £30 million for drones produced by SYOS Aerospace, a New Zealand company with a factory in Hampshire.
The pair will also instruct their respective defence ministers to begin work on a new defence partnership between the UK and New Zealand, replacing the one signed in 2015.
Sir Keir on Monday spoke with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Store.
A Downing Street spokesman said the PM “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine”. And he “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
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