Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said Britain must prepare for the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine as part of a future peace agreement and to prevent Russian expansion.
Speaking to GB News, Streeting emphasised that decisions involving British service personnel are "never taken lightly" by any Government.
"What the Prime Minister is doing is rightly preparing for a scenario in which President Trump's initiative to end the war in Ukraine is successful and we need to secure the peace," he told GB News.
The Health Secretary stressed that "Ukraine's front line is Britain's front line" in the face of what he described as an "imperialist, expansionist Russian president" who poses an ongoing threat to British national security.
Wes Streeting defended the Prime Minister's pledge to send British troops to Ukraine
GB News
Streeting elaborated on the importance of international cooperation in securing any future peace deal.
"As we work together with our friends in America and across Europe and, crucially, President Zelensky and Ukrainians themselves, it's really important that we are preparing for a scenario in which a peace deal has been agreed," he said.
The Health Secretary emphasised the need to work with allies to "secure that peace and deter any future Russian aggression".
He pointed to Russia's demonstrated willingness to invade sovereign territories of other European countries as a key concern.
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The Prime Minister is set to deploy British troops to Ukraine to help in their war against RussiaPAAddressing defence spending plans, Streeting outlined Labour's commitment to increase military expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
He said this was necessary to "redress the under-investment in our armed forces we've had for more than a decade under our Conservative predecessors".
Streeting emphasised this increase in defence spending would help "equip Britain to withstand emerging and future threats to our national security in a volatile and changing world".
"We've got real pressures on our public finances. That's why, frankly, in the last seven months, we've had to take some decisions that have been unpopular because Britain was left in a massive hole," he said.
Streeting told GB News that Starmer is 'rightly preparing for a scenario' in which a peace deal is reached
GB News
The Health Secretary pointed to various challenges, including the NHS crisis and pressures on defence spending.
"We've got a hell of a job on our hands," he admitted to GB News.
However, he remained resolute about delivering on Labour's promises.
"That's a job we were elected to do, and as we're announcing today on the NHS, we are delivering on our promises, but there's still a mountain to climb," Streeting added.
