Sir Ed Davey said Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, becoming the latest senior figure to urge a change of course from Sir Keir Starmer.
After Boris Johnson and five former defence secretaries called for Kyiv to be allowed to use British-made Storm Shadows to strike Russian targets, the Liberal Democrat leader joined a growing chorus calling for a shift in stance.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said on Sunday morning that talks are continuing with the US and allies about giving Kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit Russian air bases and military sites which are being used to launch attacks on Ukraine.
And he downplayed the importance of the Storm Shadow missiles, saying: “No war is won with any one weapon, that is the case.”
But speaking at the party’s autumn conference, Sir Ed said there are “difficult judgments” to be made.
But he told a Q&A session: “Fundamentally I have come to the view that we should allow President [Volodymyr] Zelensky and Ukraine to use those long-range weapons to attack Russian military bases in Russia.”
He said he is “not privy to all of the intelligence and the briefings”, and later added: “If we have to do it unilaterally I think we should.”
He was backed up by Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper, who told journalists: “Fundamentally, Putin is an aggressor, and I don’t think he’s going to stop at Ukraine.
“And I think he poses a fundamental threat to liberal democracy, to the values that we have in Europe. And I think we should be providing a lot of support to Ukraine so that they can push Putin out of their country.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.
There have been intensive UK-US diplomatic talks in Kyiv and Washington in the past week which have so far failed to produce a decision.
On Sunday former PM Mr Johnson, as well as Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt and Liam Fox, said Kyiv should be allowed to use the long-range missiles against Vladimir Putin – even without the backing of Joe Biden and the US.
The group warned Sir Keir that any future delay risks strengthening Putin’s hand in the war.
The increase in pressure on Ukraine’s request follows talks between Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Biden in Washington that did not produce an agreement on whether the UK and US would give permission to Kyiv.
Further discussions are due to take place at the United Nations later this month.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Shapps said: “Rather than waiting for formal approval from the US, Sir Keir needs to provide President Zelensky with what’s desperately needed today. That’s how we assumed our global leadership position in supporting Ukraine.”
And Mr Wallace warned: “Britain is in danger of falling behind into the pack of ditherers, appeasers and delayers, when the only real way to stand up to a bully such as Putin is to be strong, united and determined to see it through.”
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson told The Mail on Sunday: “There is no conceivable case for delay. The only person who fears escalation is Vladimir Putin, and every day that goes by is a lost opportunity to save lives and bring about a just conclusion to this war.”
It comes after Mr Lammy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “Putin said ‘don’t send tanks’. We sent them.
“Putin said ‘don’t send any missiles’. We sent them. Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons. What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
The former defence secretaries’ intervention comes amid heightened concern that Russia provided nuclear secrets to Iran in exchange for ballistic missiles for its Ukraine war.
If confirmed, such a deal would be especially alarming as Tehran is advancing its programme of uranium enrichment – a step towards developing a nuclear weapon.
Ukraine’s Western allies have claimed Iran has supplied short-range ballistic missiles to Russia and the weapons would likely be used in the war against Ukraine in the coming weeks. The US, Britain, France and Germany hit Tehran with more sanctions, condemning its “escalatory” move.