British Warships to be sent to the Arctic

The Royal Navy will work with NATO allies after US threats to Greenland

A group of British warships will patrol the Arctic, Sir Keir Starmer has said, following Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland after he cited concerns about its security.

The Prime Minister announced the British efforts to bolster security in the so-called High North at the Munich Security Conference, and said the US, Canada and other Nato allies would join the initiative.

Sir Keir also announced Britain will seek “deeper economic integration” with the European Union and to “move closer to the single market” in more sectors during his speech.

He insisted the EU-UK “status quo is not fit for purpose”, but he acknowledged there would be “trade-offs” as a result of the move.

Amid ongoing domestic political strife, Sir Keir also claimed he “ended the week much stronger than I started it”.

Sir Keir’s speech at the major security gathering followed an address by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hit out at the mistakes of Western nations over the past 40 years, but sought to reconcile ties between the US and Europe after recent turmoil in the transatlantic relationship.

Mr Rubio snubbed a Ukraine meeting at the conference on Friday, where allies rallied around the war-torn country as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears.

US officials reportedly blamed scheduling conflicts but his absence may have been seen by Europeans as a sign of the White House’s dwindling interest in including them in its bid to end the conflict.

Mr Rubio has met with the prime minister of Denmark, of which Greenland is a territory, during the conference and has discussed the island’s future, according to reports.

Mr Trump earlier this year asserted that he wants to take over the territory, sparking a divide between the US and its traditional European allies.

Mr Trump has claimed he does not believe Denmark does enough to defend it from threats by Russia and China.

Published: 14/02/2026 by Radio NewsHub