Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat has backed the UK's new £1.6billion deal to supply Ukraine with 5,000 air-defence missiles, claiming it is about "keeping Britain safe".
The agreement, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday, will see the lightweight multirole missiles manufactured by Thales in Northern Ireland.
The deal is expected to create 200 jobs in the UK while bolstering Ukraine's defence capabilities.
Speaking to GB News, Tugendhat said: "This is not about business deals. This is about keeping Britain safe. Look, if you want to know why this matters, do you remember a couple of years ago when this all kicked off?
Tom Tugendhat backed the UK's new £1.6 billion deal
GB NEWS
"Or rather, when it kicked off for the second time? Let's be honest, because it kicked off the first time in 2014.
"But when it kicked off the second time in 2022, every single one of us you, me, and everybody watching felt your house price, your energy costs going up massively.
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"I don't know about you, but I remember how much my gas bill cost that month and the months that followed. It really hit us hard. And if we want to make sure that we have partnerships and allies that can resist the influence of dictatorships, then we need to be prepared to step up.
"What we saw over the last week, I'm afraid, out of Washington, was that those who pay for their own defence get to determine the strategic outlook for others. And we haven't paid enough. That's simply true.
"I thought Kemi put it very well yesterday, actually. You know, it was hard to watch. It was a moment when it looked like politics had become TV. This isn’t another version of The Apprentice.
"This is really serious. There's a guy there who, no doubt, has lost quite literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of his friends in various different actions over the last three years.
Keir Starmer announced a major £1.6bn missile deal with Ukraine in address to the nation
GB News"Who knows very well that every single day, schools, hospitals, and homes are targeted by Russian missiles, killing civilians, killing children. It was pretty hard to watch.
"But it's certainly true that we need to make sure that the relationship with the United States is rebuilt, because it's incredibly important to us all that the United States sees itself as part of the essential building block of Western security not just for us, by the way, not just for the United Kingdom, but for the United States."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted the critical role these missiles will play in Ukraine's defence strategy.
"This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthening Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes," Starmer told reporters at a London summit.
He added that the UK must "learn from the mistakes of the past".
The announcement comes after Russia launched more than 200 drones in an overnight attack last week.
Ukraine described it as the largest such attack since the war began three years ago.
Starmer noted that many countries had expressed their desire to join European allies in providing aid to Ukraine.
