Wales’s first minister calls on Keir Starmer to halt US-UK space defence project

Wales’s first minister has called on Keir Starmer to suspend a big joint defence project with the US, saying that under Donald Trump the country is “not the partner it once was”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Labour’s Eluned Morgan cited the US president’s “contempt” towards the UK and his threat to “annihilate” Iran as reasons to halt the development of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (Darc) programme in Pembrokeshire, part of the Aukus defence partnership between the UK, US and Australia.

“The United States under Donald Trump is not the partner it once was. Talk of targeting civilians, undermining our allies, and diminishing the sacrifice of our armed forces is not the conduct of a reliable ally,” she said.

“I believe in international alliances, I believe in collective security, but there is a clear difference between standing with our partners and giving a free pass to a US president who has threatened war crimes and shown contempt for our country.

“I’m urging the UK government to halt our involvement in the Aukus radar project until we can be confident those partnerships reflect our values, and our security interests.”

Darc, which is located in Morgan’s Senedd constituency, is part of a planned network of radars around the globe tracking deep space activity to help protect the UK from “space warfare”.

The 27 radar dishes near the national park boundary at the Cawdor Barracks on St David’s peninsula will be 20 metres high. Local campaigners Parc Against Darc have called the project “one of the most health-hazardous, tourism-ruining, skyline-blighting military installations ever proposed anywhere in the UK”.

A dozen Senedd members have voiced opposition to the radar programme to date, although only three from the Labour party. Local Labour MP, Henry Tufnell, and the secretary of state for Wales, Jo Stevens, have supported the project as means of saving jobs at the army base, which was slated to close in 2028.

Morgan’s high-profile intervention comes during campaigning for the Senedd elections on 7 May. Polls suggest after more than 100 years in office in Wales, Labour will come third or even fourth next month, behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.

Starmer’s unpopularity has harmed an already struggling Welsh Labour; the party could be down to single digit seats in the next Senedd, and the first minister herself appears to be on course to lose her seat.

While Morgan has voiced frustration at Labour policy in Westminster, including the attempts to cut winter fuel payments and disability benefits, she ultimately backed the prime minister when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on him to resign in February.

Downing Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to the Press Agency, a spokesperson for the prime minister appeared to suggest that work on Darc should continue, saying: “[Darc] will secure long-term jobs in Pembrokeshire, Wales and help protect essential satellite communication and navigation works.

“We’re engaging with the local community on proposals to redevelop Cawdor Barracks to host Darc, which will be operated by UK personnel … and have already completed a comprehensive environmental impact assessment including to ensure the project has minimal impact on the local skyline,” he said.

Senior Labour figures have been reluctant to criticise Trump since he began his second presidential term, although Morgan described the US president as “off-the-scale crazy” in 2017.

The first minister turned down an invitation to a state banquet in Trump’s honour at Windsor castle last September. Earlier this week, she accused the US leader of “poor judgment” for posting a “deeply offensive” AI-generated image portraying him as a Christ-like figure.

The US is Wales’ second-most valuable trading partner, after the EU.