“It’s because of the prime minister,” Mr Biden replied.

Sir Keir Starmer will attend the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday, No 10 has confirmed.

It is not yet known whether the prime minister has been told of England’s last-gasp victory over the Netherlands while attending a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the principal decision-making body of Nato.

He previously said he would be relying on officials secretly passing him notes to keep track of the game.

He told reporters: “I understand our phones are all taken off us, when we go into the council, so I’ve no doubt we’ll be passed lots of notes with really important information about the summit, and one or two of those notes hopefully will be an update on the score, because I’m not going to be able to get it otherwise.”

While Joe Biden was greeting Nato leaders in Washington, his supporters have continued efforts to shore up support for his election campaign.

The broadcaster NBC announced he will sit for an interview with its news anchor Lester Holt in Austin, Texas, on Monday.

President Biden greets Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday, alongside the Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Biden’s team have been putting him forward for interviews after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump prompted concerns over his fitness to serve another term.

But on Wednesday yet more high-profile figures from his party called for him to pull out of the campaign. Antonio Delgado, the lieutenant governor of New York and one of the state’s most prominent Democrats, becoming the latest elected official to call for Biden to go.

Earlier George Clooney, Biden’s most high-profile celebrity supporter and campaign fundraiser, said he was a shadow of his former self and urged him to step down.

Sir Keir Starmer ducked out of the Nato summit at just the right moment to check the score in the football.

He and the Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof, found a television showing the Euro 2024 semi-final between the Netherlands and England.

Schoof shook Starmer’s hand sportingly after Harry Kane levelled the match from the penalty spot.

Sir Keir Starmer will present Joe Biden with a personalised Arsenal shirt when they meet at the White House on Wednesday evening.

The shirt, with Biden’s surname and his presidential number 46 on the back, will be handed over by UK officials to White House aides.

The Labour leader is a keen Arsenal fan and hopes it will help strengthen what he called the the “very special relationship” between Britain and America.

A Downing Street official said: “It’s his team and he thought it would make a personal gift.”

Starmer will also give Biden a copy of the Atlantic Charter of 1941 which paved the way for the formation of Nato in 1949, complete with the Labour leader Clement Attlee’s amendments.

John Healey, the new defence secretary, met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin at the summit (Charlie Moloney writes).

Austin shared a photograph on Twitter/X of the two men together, but misspelt the British minister’s name as “Secretary Healy”.

“Our shared ideals are at the heart of the US-UK special relationship. I look forward to working closely with my new UK counterpart to tackle today’s security challenges,” the US defence secretary said.

Before the election Healey, the Labour MP for Rawmarsh & Conisbrough, had been in the shadow cabinet in charge of the defence brief since 2020.

Britain’s new prime minister took a seat beside the world’s most powerful man at a heads of governments meeting at the Nato summit.

President Biden also appeared to have a game of musical chairs with Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-general.

On the way to Washington, Starmer rejected comparisons between his plan to make members of the House of Lords retire at 80 and calls by Democrats to find a candidate to replace Biden, 81.

Sir Keir Starmer was seated next to President Biden at the summit

KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES

Biden and Jens Stoltenberg appeared uncertain who would take their seats first

SHAWN THEW/EPA

Starmer had President Erdogan of Turkey sitting on the other side, with the US secretary of state Antony Blinken behind him

TING SHEN/EPA

President Zelensky wrote Twitter/X that he was “grateful to the UK for its unwavering support for Ukraine and our people” after a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer at the Nato summit.

He added: “I thanked Prime Minister Starmer for all the UK’s military and financial assistance provided to our country.

“This morning, I learned about the permission to use Storm Shadow missiles against military targets in Russian territory.

“Today, we had the opportunity to discuss the practical implementation of this decision.”

President Biden has said that Nato countries will give Ukraine more weapons including five new air defence missile systems.

He said at the Washington summit: “All told, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missiles and Ukrainian troops facing their attacks on the front lines.”

Listen to the Times podcast on the latest from Washington below:

Rishi Sunak was “sorrowful” and “apologetic” at his first meeting with Conservative MPs following the party’s disastrous election defeat, Sir Bernard Jenkin, a senior backbencher, has said.

Asked how long Sunak would remain as opposition leader, the MP for Harwich & North Essex said: “He will be staying on until he decides to trigger a leadership election, but he is not going immediately.

“You will certainly see him at the state opening [of parliament on July 17]. I have no indication beyond that. He is not rushing out of the door as some previous leaders have done.”

The first batch of F-16 fighter jets are already being transferred to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands and will be flying over Ukrainian skies this summer, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

“I’m also pleased to announce that as we speak, the transfer of F-16 jets is under way, coming from Denmark, coming from the Netherlands,” Blinken said at an event on the sidelines of the Nato summit.

“And those jets … will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to use the Nato summit to “reset” relations with world leaders and send a message to Russia’s President Putin.

The prime minister said he used his earlier one-to-one talks with President Zelensky of Ukraine to stress that the change of government in Britain “makes no difference to the support that we will provide”.

The summit was also a chance for the new Labour government “to reaffirm our commitment to Nato” on its 75th anniversary, he said.

A pending statement by Nato leaders in Washington will include an intention to bolster air defences along the eastern flank of the alliance, President Iohannis of Romania said on Wednesday.

Romania, a Nato member since 2004, shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine and has had Russian drone fragments stray into its territory.

“You will see in tomorrow’s statement … planned measures to bolster air defences on the eastern flank,” Iohannis told reporters. “This concerns us, there have been … situations in which drones fell on our national territory.”

He also said Nato allies had delivered only half the aid they promised Ukraine and must do more if they want the country to “win” its war with Russia.

President Duda of Poland said this Nato summit will “most likely” not send an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance but he hoped “that it will become a fact at the next summit”.

Britain will be unafraid to challenge China, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he promised an “audit” of relations with the world’s second-largest economy (Aubrey Allegretti writes from Washington).

Speaking at the Nato summit on Wednesday, the prime minister refused to say if he could formally categorise China as a “threat”, as do some who believe the West has taken too soft a stance.

Concerns about attempted political interference, as well as state-backed hacking and claims of human rights abuses, have fuelled a growing frostiness in relations with Beijing

Starmer criticised “14 years of damaging Conservative inconsistency over China”, in a nod to the change in approach ever since David Cameron proclaimed a “golden era” in UK-China relations when he was prime minister.

Suella Braverman has appeared to take umbrage with her Tory leadership rival Kemi Badenoch, who is said to have described her as having a “very public nervous breakdown”.

The Times reported on Tuesday evening that Badenoch had said in a shadow cabinet meeting that many of her colleagues were clearly still traumatised by the election defeat, and referenced the former home secretary who has made a series of trenchant interventions.

Earlier on Wednesday, Badenoch said it was “a shame” that her comments, including her criticism of Rishi Sunak, had been leaked.

Braverman responded with a post of her own on Twitter/X, saying: “I’d be interested in knowing whether Kemi thinks I’m having a ‘very public nervous breakdown’.”

Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, has met the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, where they are both attending the Nato summit.

They were pictured smiling and embracing on Wednesday. The two men have met before, when Starmer was leader of the opposition, in Westminster last year and at the D-Day celebrations in France last month.

The alliance’s support for Ukraine in its war with Russia is one of the main themes of the summit.

Sir Keir Starmer met Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, on the sidelines of the Nato in Washington

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL PHOTO/AP

George Clooney has called for President Biden to step aside and urged Democratic leaders to demand the president hand over the reins to another candidate.

The Oscar-winning actor — a high profile Democrat supporter who hosted a $30 million campaign fundraiser three weeks ago — wrote in The New York Times that Biden is a shadow of his former self.

“The dam has broken,” Clooney said. “We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth. Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024.”

Read the full story: George Clooney: Biden has to step down. He is not the same man

Sir Keir Starmer dismissed questions about Joe Biden’s age earlier on Wednesday, but senior politicians in the president’s own Democratic Party have continued to express concerns about his campaign for re-election.

Richard Blumenthal, a senator from Connecticut, told reporters: “I am deeply concerned about Joe Biden winning this November, because it is an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins. So I think that we have to reach a conclusion as soon as possible.”

He added: “And I think, Joe Biden, as the Democratic nominee, has my support.”

Sir Keir Starmer, on his first overseas trip as prime minister, has met a delegation of US senators at the Nato summit in Washington.

He posed for photos alongside the Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican opposite number, the minority leader Mitch McConnell.

Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister, and President Stubb of Finland were also in the group picture. Sweden and Finland are the newest members of Nato after ending their traditional neutrality following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer poses between Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland, and Chuck Schumer, the US Senate majority leader

NEWSCOM/ALAMY

Sweden’s prime minister and the secretary-general of Nato were also in the group photo

ALAMY

Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, has stopped short of saying that President Biden should stay in the race for re-election, saying that “time is running short”.

Her insistence that he still needs to make up his mind comes after Biden, 81, has maintained for days that he will not step down.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi, 84, said on MSNBC on Wednesday. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short. But he’s beloved, he is respected and people want him to make that decision, not me.”

Read the full story: Nancy Pelosi hints Biden should consider dropping out: ‘Time is short’

Nato allies at the summit in Washington have pledged to support Ukraine on an “irreversible path” to integration on Wednesday, while remaining willing to maintain channels of communication with Moscow to prevent escalation of the war, according to a draft joint communique seen by Reuters.

It also calls China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine and said Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to security in Europe.

Kemi Badenoch has said it was “a shame” that her criticism of Rishi Sunak in yesterday’s shadow cabinet meeting was leaked (Ed Halford writes).

It was revealed by The Times on Tuesday evening that Badenoch had called Sunak’s decision to call an early election a mistake and said not consulting his cabinet bordered on “unconstitutional”.

The shadow housing secretary, who is seen as frontrunner for the Tory leadership contest, also said the Sunak’s decision to leave D-Day commemorations early was “disastrous” and cost colleagues such as Penny Mordaunt their seats.

On Wednesday Badenoch said on Twitter/X: “It’s a shame our discussions in shadow cabinet were leaked yesterday. If there is no private space to discuss our party’s challenges, we will never fully address what the electorate told us last week.”

President Zelensky has said the delivery of new F-16 jets will “bolster Ukraine’s air defence” and help protect civilians from “brutal Russian attacks” such as the strike on Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv (Ed Halford writes).

He said the jets, donated by Belgium and Norway, would help bring “just and lasting peace closer”. Other Nato members have helped train Ukrainian pilots.

Meanwhile, the White House has said the Danish and Dutch governments are also in the process of donating American-made F-16s, and that Ukraine would be flying them “this summer”.

John Healey, the defence secretary, said a defence review will be concluded in “less than a year” and would be carried out “properly” and “at pace”, with difficult decisions taken early (Larisa Brown writes).

In a briefing with journalists on the fringes of the Nato summit in Washington, he said European countries will need to spend more on defence and take a leading role when it comes to Ukraine, whether or not Donald Trump is re-elected in the autumn.

He said US priorities are likely to shift increasingly to the Indo-Pacific region, adding: “The consequences of that are that European nations in Nato must do more of the heavy lifting and some of the leadership that traditionally we have been able to look to the Americans to do.”

Nato leaders are expected to call China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine in a summit statement today, Reuters reported.

“The People’s Republic of China has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine through its so-called no-limits partnership and its large-scale support for Russia’s defence industrial base,” the text is expected to say, according to a Nato source quoted by Reuters.

Antony Blinken spoke at the Nato Public Forum

DREW ANGERER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to send additional air defence systems to Ukraine as part of a broader aid package.

Speaking at the Nato Public Forum, Blinken started his speech by praising the “extraordinary value” of the Nato alliance and its principle of collective security.

Blinken said the additional air defence systems which would be flying over Ukraine by this summer “have been job number one for Ukraine”. He added that the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine was “happening as we speak”.

Sir Keir Starmer views the Nato summit as an ideal opportunity to “Trump-proof” support for Ukraine in case the former president wins the race for the White House in November, The Times’s Aubrey Allegretti has told Times Radio.

Allegretti said: “Donald Trump has made no bones about his difficulties in sending money to Ukraine.”

He added: “Keir Starmer said on the plane yesterday the summit was a good chance to try and lock in some of the key support from countries all across Nato and show unity.”

Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, reiterated the importance of Nato support for Ukraine, saying every member state would have to do its best.

“Germany is the largest country in Europe within the Nato alliance,” he said. “This gives us a very special responsibility and I can say very clearly here that we will, I will, fulfil this responsibility.”

Germany is projected to spend 2.1 per cent of its GDP on defence this year, just exceeding the Nato requirement of 2 per cent.

John Healey leaving No 10 yesterday

RASID NECATI ASLIM/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES

John Healey, the defence secretary, has said the Labour Party has provided a “total commitment” to reach the 2.5 per cent defence spending goal.

Speaking to broadcasters at the Nato summit in Washington, Healey said that the last time the UK hit the 2.5 per cent mark was under a Labour government in 2010.

Healey said a strategic defence review would be launched next week alongside a “clear pathway to meeting that commitment of 2.5 per cent on defence”.

Jens Stoltenberg addressed reporters at the Nato summit in Washington

MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA

Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-general, has said he expected allies to agree to a substantial package to assist Ukraine, adding that the aid would be a bridge to Kyiv’s membership in the alliance.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Washington, Stoltenberg added that it was too soon to say when Ukraine would be admitted to the alliance as a member.

He said Nato had seen a pattern of increased hostile acts by Russia, ranging from disinformation and cyber-attacks to sabotage.

He also expressed confidence that the United States would remain a cornerstone of the alliance regardless of the outcome of November’s presidential election.

Robert Jenrick, the Conservative Party leadership hopeful, has said the Labour Party’s decision to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme was “sheer stupidity” (Ed Halford writes).

Responding to the news that 412 migrants crossed the Channel yesterday, Jenrick declared that “open season has begun” and predicted that more and more migrants would arrive in small boats.

He claimed that Sir Keir Starmer had “surrendered to the people smugglers”.

Yesterday it emerged that the Rwandan government would not repay any of the £270 million which it had received already from the UK for the scheme.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, shared a picture of his meeting with Sir Keir Starmer at the Nato summit on Twitter/X, calling the prime minister a friend.

It is the first time in 20 years that a Labour prime minister and a Social Democrat are respectively leading the UK and Germany. The last time was when Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder were in office.

Sir Keir Starmer met Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, for breakfast

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Sir Keir Starmer met Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, as first order of business in Washington today.

The leaders had a call on Saturday during which they discussed the “opportunity to further deepen defence and security ties” as well as greater economic co-operation between Germany and the UK.

Scholz had congratulated Starmer on his victory in the election last week.

Tom Tugendhat, the shadow security minister, is one of the Tory leadership hopefuls

IAN DAVIDSON/ALAMY

Tom Tugendhat, the shadow security minister, has accused the Labour Party of putting forward a “vague commitment” for defence spending.

The Conservative Party leadership hopeful wrote on Twitter/X: “Vague commitment. No plan to deliver it. We cannot afford to compromise on our nation’s defence.”

Tugendhat served in the military before entering politics, including service in the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

The swearing in of MPs has started yesterday but continues today.

All 643 MPs have to enter the Chamber, walk up to the Commons dispatch box and take the oath of allegiance to the King.

The state opening of parliament, marking the official start of the parliamentary year, will take place next week, on July 17.

This includes the King’s Speech, read in the House of Lords by the King. It is written by the government and contains an outline of its agenda for the new parliamentary session.

The prime minister will first meet Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, at 1pm BST for a breakfast meeting (Ed Halford writes).

Starmer will then meet President Zelensky of Ukraine at 3.50pm BST, after their first meeting at the D-Day anniversary in Normandy.

He is expected to watch England’s semi-final against the Netherlands with Dick Schoof, the Dutch prime minister, at 8pm despite jokes that he would have to be passed notes with updates.

Mike Johnson, the US speaker of the House of Representatives, will then meet Starmer at the Senate at 9.30pm BST before he meets President Biden in the Oval Office for their first face-to-face talks at 10.30pm.

This will be followed by a reception in the White House and dinner with other world leaders.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, has said that Russia would respond if the UK allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with British weapons.

Sir Keir Starmer had signalled that Ukraine could use British Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets inside Russia. The prime minister said that it was “up to the Ukrainians how to use the weapons” for defensive purposes.

Peskov said this would be an irresponsible escalatory step.

Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing secretary-general, will give an address at the Nato public forum at 3.45pm (Ed Halford writes).

This will be followed by more world leaders arriving at the summit at 5.15pm, when the famous photograph of all of them together will be taken.

The first major discussions of the summit will begin at 6pm before a news conference is held by Stoltenberg at 9.30pm.

Three dinners are taking place tonight. Not all of them are for the same leaders — one is for world leaders, one for foreign ministers, and another for defence ministers.

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the strength of Britain’s “special relationship” with the US before a talk with President Biden at the White House today (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

The prime minister hopes to “follow up” on the introduction he had with Biden in a phone call on Friday, which Downing Street took the unusual step of releasing a video of.

Starmer dismissed a question over Biden’s age, given speculation about whether the 81-year-old president is fit to run for a second term in November.

He suggested there was no parallel between Labour’s plan to axe peers over the age of 80 and the suitability of Biden to serve another four years in the White House.

Nick Thomas-Symonds will endeavour to “strengthen” relations with the EU during the summit

SIMON DAWSON / NO 10 DOWNING STR

Sir Keir Starmer’s new Europe minister has joined the prime minister on his Nato trip to “take advantage” of the opportunity for a diplomatic blitz (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

Nick Thomas-Symonds will endeavour to “strengthen” relations with the EU and hold talks on a separate defence pact during the summit.

Starmer was joined on the trip by David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and John Healey, the defence secretary, as well as Thomas-Symonds, who is a minister but not in the cabinet.

The prime minister described the timing of the Nato summit so soon after the general election as a “really important window of opportunity” to “strengthen relations” with Nato leaders — including those from the EU.

Thomas-Symonds came along to “take full advantage of this opportunity”, Starmer told journalists.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, leaving No 10 yesterday

WIKTOR SZYMANOWICZ/FUTURE PUBLISHING/GETTY IMAGES

There were 419 migrants detected crossing the English Channel yesterday, provisional figures published by the Home Office have shown (Ed Halford writes).

The total number of arrivals by small boats this year has reached a provisional total of 14,058.

This is 10 per cent higher than at the same point last year, when 12,772 had arrived. It is also 6 per cent higher than the total at this point in 2022, when it was 13,318.

Senior Conservative MPs have suggested the party is unlikely to have a new leader in place until the end of the year (Ed Halford writes).

Andrew Mitchell, the shadow foreign secretary, said that the party conference in autumn would be critical “so that the whole party can have a good look at [the candidates]”.

Speaking to the BBC before attending The Spectator’s summer party, Mitchell said the party needed to take its time with the decision.

Richard Holden, the former Conservative party chairman, said there would be a “really interesting discussion” among Tory MPs over the next weeks and months.

Holden said he did not expect a new leader to be put in place until the “back end of the year”.

The prime minister had come under fire for failing to outline concrete plans to increase defence spending. He arrived in Washington for the 75th anniversary of Nato early this morning.

President Biden has shared a picture of the world leaders at the Nato summit, taken last night before Sir Keir Starmer’s arrival.

He reiterated that Nato members had a “shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous world” and said that the alliance was in the “best position” to achieve that vision.

Richard Tice was one of five Reform MPs who spent their first day in parliament yesterday

MAJA SMIEJKOWSKA/PA

Richard Tice, the Reform chairman, has said the party will not merge with the Conservatives (Ed Halford writes).

Speaking to Good Morning Britain on ITV, he claimed that the Labour Party and the Conservative Party represented “some form of socialism”.

Asked if he was ruling out a merger, he said: “We are not interested in the Tories. We are Reform, we are growing, we stood in every seat possible in the election and that is what we are going to continue to do.

“I want to compete. That is what we want to do. We want to put forward a completely different agenda to socialism.”

Almost half of Tory members are in favour of a merger with Reform UK, a survey has found after the upstart party led by Nigel Farage won about 14 per cent of all votes cast (Kieran Gair writes).

The survey from the Party Members Project at Queen Mary University of London and Sussex University, carried out by YouGov, concluded that “membership is split down the middle”, with 47 per cent in favour of a merger with Reform UK and 48 per cent against.

The Party Members Project wrote: “Perhaps predictably Leavers are more than twice as likely to support a merger than Remainers (59 vs 25). Support for the idea also increases as one moves up the age ranges, with support for a merger stronger among the over-50s and opposition stronger among the under-50s. Support for a merger is also stronger among ‘working class’ Tories.”

Support was also stronger among those who backed Liz Truss over Rishi Sunak in 2022.

Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to “dither and delay” raising defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP is “going to be damaging”, the shadow defence secretary has said (Ed Halford writes).

James Cartlidge told Times Radio that Britain’s armed forces would be concerned about what “sounds like a year’s delay … I think Keir Starmer has made a big mistake today. And you know, I am concerned what the impact will be on the armed forces.”

The Conservative Party must “pull together” after last week’s historic defeat, the new chairman of the 1922 Committee has said (Kieran Gair writes).

Bob Blackman, the Conservative MP for Harrow East, told Today on BBC Radio 4 that the party needed “to win back the trust of the people of this country”.

Asked about his role representing backbench Tory MPs, Blackman said: “One of the issues is there’s very different skills required in opposition.”

Blackman’s election as chairman was marred by controversy. Some MPs were unable to take part in the vote as they arrived too late; whips had sent out a message with the wrong finishing time.

He will play a key role in deciding the timetable to elect Rishi Sunak’s successor.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the party should focus on policy

MAJA SMIEJKOWSKA/PA

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has said the answer to the Conservative Party’s problems is not to “try and kidnap Nigel” (Ed Halford writes).

The former Commons leader and business secretary said the party needed to change its policies to win back voters.

Rees-Mogg told GB News: “It’s not necessarily about the individual … it’s about the policies. Nigel wouldn’t have needed the vehicle of Reform if the Tories got on with Brexit properly, if we hadn’t raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years and we’d dealt with immigration.”

Rees-Mogg said there was a prospect of the “Tory family” coming back together. He added: “I think there’s this idea that you just sort of try and kidnap Nigel, bring him into the Tory Party, then all the problems are solved. But they’re not, because unless you change the underlying policies and get the message that we’re on the side of the voters, it won’t change.”

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who lost her seat, has called Kemi Badenoch “weak” and warned against making the shadow housing secretary the next Tory leader.

Badenoch, who is seen as a frontrunner for the Tory leadership contest, had said at the first meeting of the shadow cabinet that Sunak’s decision to call an early election without informing his cabinet was a mistake and bordered on “unconstitutional”.

Labour will need to pay a hefty price to sweeten the UK’s Brexit deal, Lord Frost has warned after Sir Keir Starmer vowed to improve relations with the EU (Kieran Gair writes).

Frost, the former Conservative minister, claimed Labour did not appear to understand how the EU worked and also did not appreciate how tough negotiations with the bloc can be.

He told GB News: “I am fearful that they want to take us back closer. I don’t think they can rejoin imminently, though I’m sure that the leadership of the Labour Party would like to if they got the chance. But I do wonder whether Labour have really thought this through. They talk very glibly about smoothing the edges off the deal, getting closer to the EU — you always have to pay for doing that.

“They’re tough negotiators, and if you want to change things, you’re going to have to accept EU courts, EU law, subordination to EU foreign policy. I don’t know whether Labour really get that yet.”

Philip Ingram, a former colonel in British military intelligence, said the government was “playing with fire” by delaying an increase to defence spending.

He added that the “threat is now and it will take years to fix the army, our ammunition stocks, get the RAF and navy ready”.

Admiral Lord West, a former head of the navy who was a security minister under a previous Labour government, said the government should outline a timeline during the Nato summit to answer American concerns about the fact that European countries do not spend enough on defence.

• Read the full story: Starmer is “playing with fire” on defence spending

The shadow defence secretary has written to John Healey asking for “urgent clarity” on the government’s defence spending plans (Seren Hughes writes).

James Cartlidge wrote in a post on Twitter/X: “It’s vital the government sets a clear date by when it will deliver 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence — otherwise we will have to conclude defence is not a Labour priority.”

In the letter to Healey, the defence secretary, Cartlidge added: “Making such a clear commitment is vital for our national security.”

Defence spending cannot rise unless Britain’s economy grows, the armed forces minister has suggested.

Luke Pollard told Today on BBC Radio 4: “The way we deliver increased public spending on defence, on schools, hospitals or prisons, is by growing our economy. If we don’t grow our economy, there won’t be the money to support those public services and the ambitions that we have. That includes defence, and defence can itself help that growth.”

As a member of Nato, the UK is committed to spending at least 2 per cent of national income, as measured by GDP, on defence.

According to Nato figures, Britain spent an estimated 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence last year, and is set to spend about the same this year. That makes it one of around ten countries estimated to have hit the target last year, with 23 of 32 expected to do so this year.

This chart shows how the UK’s defence expenditure compares to the other Nato countries.

Defence spending should be pushed above 3 per cent of GDP, the former head of MI6 has said.

Sir Richard Dearlove, the former intelligence chief, told Times Radio that neither Labour nor the Conservatives had told voters how serious the defence situation was during the election, and that it was “more important than the National Health Service”.

Dearlove warned: “We’ve lived through dangerous periods before but this probably is the worst.”

He said: “In my view, actually, our defence expenditure should be around 3 per cent, maybe even a bit higher. The Poles are already spending 3.9 per cent and going to get even higher. There is an urgency, this is a major problem.”

Kemi Badenoch was more popular among Tory members than her Conservative colleagues

LUCY NORTH/PA

Kemi Badenoch has twice as much support from Tory members as Suella Braverman, according to a poll on leadership hopefuls (Seren Hughes writes).

The survey from the Party Members Project at Queen Mary University of London and Sussex University, carried out by YouGov, found that Badenoch had the support of 31 per cent of members while Braverman had the support of 16 per cent.

Tom Tugendhat was in a close third at 15 per cent, with James Cleverly on 10 per cent, Robert Jenrick at 7 per cent, Priti Patel at 6 per cent, and Victoria Atkins just scraping 2 per cent.

A total of 725 Conservative members were asked for their views.

The government’s decision to hold a review before deciding how to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP is “damaging for the armed forces”, the shadow defence secretary has said (Geraldine Scott writes).

James Cartlidge, who was appointed to the shadow cabinet on Monday, told Sky News: “We had an amazing opportunity of Keir Starmer at the Washington summit to confirm he was going to go to 2.5 per cent and set a clear timetable, because that’s what the chiefs running our armed forces need.

“They’ve got some difficult decisions to make, but above all we’ve got this dangerous world where we want to be deterring our adversaries.”

Sir Keir Starmer has come under pressure from all fronts to increase defence spending. The prime minister, a lawyer by profession, has chosen caution at every turn.

The new government believes the defence review, launching next week, is an important part of the roadmap to hitting the 2.5 per cent target. It wants to work out what is needed over the coming years and when to reach the goal.

Yet with the war in Ukraine showing no sign of ending and the potential for the conflict in Gaza to spread to Lebanon, some politicians argued now is not the time for Starmer to delay a commitment to defence.

• Read the full analysis: Why Starmer’s caution over spending is a high-risk strategy

President Biden at yesterday’s opening of the Nato summit

YURI GRIPAS/NEWSCOM/ALAMY

President Biden is six years older than Nato, which celebrates its 75th birthday, and it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that both are under doctor’s orders.

For weeks, the US leader’s mental and physical health has been under the microscope. So, is he good to go?

That’s what the Nato leaders gathered in Washington will want to find out (as will the intelligence agencies of Russia and China). The age debate has been seen largely through the domestic prism of whether Biden can beat Donald Trump in November. Nato leaders are of course concerned with this too — part of the summit’s mission is to quietly Trump-proof the alliance.

• Read Roger Boyes’s full analysis: What Nato leaders want to see from Biden

Jonathan Ashworth had been essential to the party’s media campaign

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Jonathan Ashworth has been appointed chief executive of a Labour think tank after losing his seat at the general election (Seren Hughes writes).

Ashworth, the former shadow paymaster general, played a prominent role in his party’s campaign. He was unseated by an independent in Leicester South, in part because of his party’s stance on Gaza.

Labour Together welcomed Ashworth and said he will bring “unparalleled insight, relationships and political experience”.

Ashworth wrote on Twitter/X: “LabourTogether was so integral to our victory last week. LT will continue to generate bold ideas to transform Britain for the better and help win a second term. I’m so honoured and excited to now be part of this amazing team.”

Gaps in Britain’s military capability are due to the country’s support for Ukraine, the armed forces minister has said (Geraldine Scott writes).

Luke Pollard told LBC that Britain had “correctly supported our friends in Ukraine [by] donating UK military equipment so they can fight this illegal Russian aggression. That has made gaps in our own Armed Forces”.

Pollard said that the government’s defence review would be “Nato-first”. He told Times Radio: “If we don’t support Ukraine and if they don’t win, Russia won’t stop there.

“If we’re not supporting our allies in the Baltic states there will be continuing threats to the United Kingdom, as well as to the rest of Nato.”

Luke Pollard said it had been easier for his colleagues covering other briefs to cost their proposals in opposition (Geraldine Scott writes).

The armed forces minister said those covering health, education, and housebuilding would have had access to “100 per cent of the information required to make a decision”.

He told LBC: “But in opposition you don’t get to see the classified security briefings, the intelligence, the work with our allies that would be required to work out precisely what shape our Armed Forces should be.”

Sir Keir Starmer at a Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal in March

PETER POWELL/EPA

Gareth Southgate’s England team have “not missed a penalty under a Labour government”, Sir Keir Starmer joked before the Euros semi-final against the Netherlands tonight (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

The prime minister is planning to watch the match with the Dutch prime minister during a summit of Nato leaders, but he admitted he may resort to receiving notes on the score should talks overlap with the kick-off in Dortmund, Germany.

The prime minister fondly recalled the performance of Bukayo Saka, who plays for Starmer’s beloved Arsenal and helped England pull even against Switzerland on Saturday.

“That was classic Bukayo: cuts in from the right and that shot is absolutely classic — inside of the post — I’ve seen it so many times,” Starmer told journalists as he flew to Washington.

Starmer’s advice to Southgate was simple: “Win.”

The government aims to complete its defence review in less than a year (Geraldine Scott writes).

Luke Pollard, a defence minister, told Times Radio: “The manifesto sets out that we want to deliver this within a year. We want to deliver it faster than that because of the urgency of the situations we’re facing.

“The prime minister’s been very clear, he wants this review delivered at pace. That is our ambition in the Ministry of Defence, to deliver it at pace.”

He added that there were decisions that could be made “outside the review” on recruitment and retention of military personnel.

The Armed Forces minister has repeatedly refused to say when the government will reach defence spending levels of 2.5 per cent of GDP (Geraldine Scott writes).

Luke Pollard told Sky News that Labour had made the “commitment” to reach 2.5 per cent and a strategic defence review, launching next week, would set out how to get there.

He told Times Radio: “For me, it’s the sequencing, not just the headline figure, that’s important here, because we know that there are gaps in some of our capabilities.”

He told BBC Breakfast that Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, had a “ironclad commitment” to get to 2.5 per cent but added: “He’s also set out, quite rightly, that we will meet that commitment within our fiscal rules. We’re not going to pretend, as the previous administration has done, that the money is there when it’s not.“

Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital was damaged during Russian missile strikes

OLEKSANDR RATUSHNIAK/REUTERS

Russia’s attack on a Ukrainian hospital on Monday is a “very important if tragic background” to the Nato summit, the prime minister said (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

Sir Keir Starmer called the attack “shocking” and “appalling”, and said it would only strengthen the resolve of Nato countries.

He told reporters: “The package that we are seeking to advance, it goes beyond the support that’s been put in before and will be locked in, I hope, at this Nato conference.

“That’s the financial package, that’s the military aid, and the strand that is the industrial strategy.”

Ukraine was also backed to continue using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to launch attacks inside Russian territory. Starmer said it was “up to the Ukrainians how to use the weapons” for defensive purposes.

Sir Keir Starmer told reporters as he flew to Washington that a review of threats and capabilities will be launched next week

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated a “cast-iron guarantee” that he will hit the 2.5 per cent defence spending target, but has refused to guarantee he will do so within his first term in office (Aubrey Allegretti writes).

As the prime minister flew to Washington before talks with Nato leaders, he told reporters that a review of threats and capabilities must happen first.

He said it would be completed “within a year”, but added: “I would like it to happen quicker than that, if I’m honest.”

The review will be launched next week, led by John Healey, the defence secretary, and will look at Britain’s needs “wider than the money question”, Starmer added.

Starmer twice declined to say if defence spending would reach 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2029.

As Nato leaders gather in Washington to mark the 75th anniversary of the world’s most durable military alliance, they face a daunting array of challenges from both outside and within.

It is still uncertain whether President Biden, perhaps the alliance’s most strident advocate in Washington, will remain in the race for the White House or whether the arch Nato-sceptic Donald Trump will return.

In Europe, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, is cosying up to China and Russia, which may indicate a reduced backing for Nato support for Ukraine.

• Read the full story: What are the key challenges for the alliance?