Prime Minister and Lady Starmer set off for Nato summit

Sir Keir Starmer and his wife set off to the United States on Tuesday evening for his first international visit as Prime Minister.

Sir Keir and Lady Starmer held hands as they boarded a jet to Washington DC for Nato’s 75th anniversary summit.

The Prime Minister will meet Joe Biden, the US president, and other Nato leaders in person for the first time since winning the general election.

Speaking to broadcasters before the flight, Sir Keir said Labour’s strategic defence review would “come first” before an announcement on when the proportion of GDP spent on defence will reach the promised level of 2.5 per cent.

“I am committed to that 2.5 per cent within our fiscal rules,” he said. “That strategic review needs to come first.”

Sir Keir has so far refused to back Rishi Sunak’s pre-election pledge to meet the target by 2030.

The Prime Minister added: “But today, tomorrow and the next day is all about standing together with our allies, discussing practically how we provide further support to Ukraine, and send a very, very clear message to Putin that we will stand against Russian aggression wherever it is in the world.”

The Washington summit will centre on the Russia-Ukraine war, and Sir Keir is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president.

The Biden administration announced on Monday night that the president will host the Prime Minister for a bilateral meeting during the summit at the White House.

The Prime Minister will be joined in Washington DC by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, and John Healey, the Defence Secretary.

Mr Lammy and Mr Healey said on Monday that they would use the Nato summit to urge other countries to increase their defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Last year, just 11 of the alliance’s 32 members, including Britain, reached the target.