Streeting says US alliance is Britain's most important defence tie, outlines Middle East and Russia priorities

Streeting began by saying that the US alliance is, in his view, the most important alliance for the UK, particularly in terms of defence and security. He said there are no other two sovereign countries anywhere in the world as closely interconnected and interdependent as the United Kingdom and the United States, and that it is therefore the UK's responsibility to build relationships and work with whoever holds power in Washington.

He pointed out that two Labour prime ministers have worked with President Trump despite clear political differences, and said the two Labour leaders had different personal styles from each other, both of them very different from Trump. He added that the UK has good relationships across both the Republican and Democratic parties, and strong institutional links, particularly military to military and system to system. He said that only after sitting at the cabinet table and in the defence secretary's chair did he fully realise how close the working relationship is.

Streeting said the UK would begin to get a sense of the administration's reaction to the elections. In his view, President Trump and senior members of the administration and his family have already begun talking about the cost of living and the war in Iran, and are beginning to form an analysis of why Republicans performed poorly. He said that is for the Americans to debate.

Streeting said it is important that, as the prime minister has said, the UK seeks de-escalation in the Middle East and a return to a new normality with stability in the region. He said the Iranian threat, which he described as a real threat, must be contained, and that maritime freedom must be reasserted.

He named real challenges in the Strait of Hormuz and from Iran, as well as the difficulties the Houthis are causing for Red Sea shipping. He said there is a lot to contend with and that the UK needs to work through it with the Americans, with European partners and with allies in the Middle East.

Asked whether the UK could step up military support to Saudi Arabia or take part in offensive strikes on Houthi missile launchers and attack infrastructure, Streeting said the UK does not want to be embroiled in the war. He said that from the UK's standpoint it does not see an end to the conflict through military means, and that a diplomatic route is needed.

He said the UK is providing defensive support to its allies in Saudi Arabia and to the legitimate government of Yemen. He pointed to Houthi attacks on civilian targets such as airports as the reason people would understand that support. He also argued that in a volatile world it matters that the UK is seen by friends and allies as a partner that shows up when help is needed, and that Britain expects the same in return, which he described as the nature of international relationships, friendships and alliances.

Asked whether the UK might give more support, since its current military role is described as limited, Streeting said the UK had stepped up. He listed ground-based air defences that were already in place, air-to-air refuelling that was put in place when the latest round of the conflict erupted, and Typhoon jets now in the air providing air-to-air defences. He said the UK follows developments closely and talks regularly with its Saudi partners.

He said the UK does not want to be dragged into the war, because that is in its interest, and reiterated that the conflict will not end through a military route and that a diplomatic resolution is needed.

Streeting said the UK is in no doubt about what Iranian malevolence looks like, and that it is not confined to regional instability. He said the public got a glimpse of this at RAF Fairford, and that Britain's Jewish community is on the receiving end of threats from Iranian-backed plots. He said the UK knows what Iran is capable of, but has always emphasised the importance of finding a diplomatic resolution where possible.

Streeting described the balance the UK strikes as taking action to defend its interests, its allies and its own people, while also working with partners to see whether diplomatic solutions to these conflicts can be achieved.

The interviewers said that in some quarters of government there are concerns about a lack of formal communication channels between the UK and Russia, and that the UK seems to be an outlier compared with Germany and France. They asked whether this could lead to escalation by accident if events or developments were misinterpreted.

Streeting said the UK has its embassy in Moscow, which is an important channel and operates in a hostile environment, and that it is not easy to be a diplomat there. He said he would much prefer additional channels, particularly at military-to-military level. Despite all differences with Russia and however outraged the UK is by its conduct and the illegal war in Ukraine, the government regularly restates its position: it has no quarrel with the Russian people and does not seek conflict or war with Russia. All it wants is an end to the war in Ukraine, which he described as illegal and unprovoked.

He pointed to the suffering of the Ukrainian people and the enormous number of Russian casualties this year, calling the war a total folly and a war of Putin's making. He said Russians themselves are paying a heavy price, both in military casualties and in the Russian economy, for what he called an utterly futile and unnecessary war. He said the UK keeps channels open as best it can, and that there is always a risk of miscalculation, which is why direct communication is important.

Streeting said there is some audacity on Putin's part in saying he does not want war with Europe while waging one. He said that across this year there have been numerous examples of what some people call hybrid threats, and that he prefers to call them state-sponsored terrorism, and that it is important to call them out for what they are.

He said it is important that political and military leaders across Europe, as well as the public, understand what the threat means and what it looks like. He argued that Europe should invest in defence and deterrence and prepare for a possible Russian escalation to wider Europe, because being prepared makes such escalation less likely, and the stronger the deterrence the less likely it is that the capabilities being invested in will need to be used.

Asked about contracts that look set to go to foreign companies manufacturing systems abroad, such as Skynet or the light mobility vehicle, and how the UK balances buying British against cost, Streeting said it was important to stress that no decisions have been made on those future contracts. He said barely a day goes by without him reading that he has decided on Skynet when he has done no such thing. He acknowledged there is ferocious lobbying from companies and from constituency MPs fighting for potential jobs in their regions, which he said he understands.

He said there is an opportunity for a win-win in backing Britain and buying British, as well as in partnerships with other countries.

Streeting said that if every NATO member could double its defence budget tomorrow, the biggest challenge would be spending it fast enough, because the alliance's defence industrial base is not collectively strong enough. He said he views the issue through several lenses. First, as Defence Secretary he must ensure the UK can buy the equipment and capability needed to keep the country safe.

Second, he said that given the threat environment and the need to be ready for a scenario in which NATO finds itself at war, the defence and wider industrial base must be able to sustain the fight, which means a warfighting economy. He said the UK must commit to growing and broadening its defence and wider industrial base, both to meet defence needs today and to be ready to switch to a warfighting economy if necessary.

Streeting said that as the UK invests in defence it can create more jobs, growth and opportunity at home. He cited Project Houston, which he and the Chancellor announced around the Labour Party conference: floating dock facilities that will be built in Britain. He said the UK chose UK-only procurement for this because it represents billions of pounds of investment and serious job potential that the government wanted to keep at home.

Streeting said the challenge for Britain and all NATO members is to make sure the desire to back their people, jobs and industries does not become self-defeating protectionism. He said there will be times when the UK partners with countries across Europe, North America and NATO, which will be in its interest, but that this will be judged case by case.

He said that where the UK buys abroad it will also derive value at home, and that companies will be required to demonstrate the positive economic benefit in Britain. He said work-share is one of the big conversations with partners on shipbuilding, GCAP and other joint work, and that this can be win-win because there is plenty of work to go around. He warned that the American 'America First' and European 'Made in Europe' approaches should not become examples of self-defeating protectionism, and said alliance strength must be held to through the economic lens as well as the military one.

Asked about deeper UK-EU defence cooperation after the SAFE negotiations fell apart at the end, and how closer cooperation might look in the short to medium term, Streeting said he has one of the easiest jobs in terms of relationships with Europe. He said that when he met Commissioners Kubilius and Kallas in Brussels, it was clear that even the Commission, when discussing defence and security, is thinking about Europe and not just the European Union. He welcomed the EU's work to mobilise financial support for Ukraine and to get the Union to think more about its defence cooperation.

He said he was assured that the Commission knows there is no sensible conversation about European defence and security that excludes the United Kingdom and other European NATO members who are not EU members. He said there is not much convincing to be done on that. He issued a cautionary note about initiatives like 'Made in Europe', warning that thinking on competition rules and buying EU could run counter to economic cooperation across NATO and make the alliance collectively weaker rather than stronger. He added that the UK gives a lot to Europe, committing its nuclear deterrence to NATO for the benefit of the whole of Europe in a way no other country does, and that defence is not an area for bartering.

Streeting said he is having this conversation with his counterparts at a time when Andy Burnham is showing courageous leadership on Europe and acknowledging where the public stand, which is that Brexit has not really worked for the UK. He said the UK should look at what more it could do together with Europe, see how ambitious it could be, and make this a national conversation with the public as well as with the European Commission and EU member states.

He said he does not necessarily know where that leads or what a deal would look like in the end, but that the starting point is a recognition that Brexit has not worked as well as anyone would have wanted, and that more can be done together in a dangerous and volatile world. He said that while the government is honouring its manifesto from the last general election, keeping promises matters, and that the Commission should be asked openly what more could be done together, what the choices and trade-offs would involve, and what is possible, so the country can decide.