The world is facing a “decade or more of Russian aggression”, the new Defence Secretary has said.

John Healey, who is attending the Nato summit in Washington DC, said European leaders will meet next week to discuss ways to improve the continent’s security.

He said he wanted to “reset” relations with the European Union and that the Government would look at the scope for a UK-EU security pact.

Mr Healey said supporting Ukraine was the Government’s first priority.

“What is really clear is that we’re facing a decade or more of growing Russian aggression,” he said.

“Supporting Ukraine and its ability to win is our first priority. That’s why on my second day in the job, I flew to Odesa and I spent the afternoon with Zelensky and his team.

“And when we’re facing growing threats across the board, then you’re quite right, the strategic defence review is our chance as a new government to get to grips with the threats that we face, the capabilities that we’ve got, the true state of the armed forces and, of course, the finances that may be available.

“That’s the way, by conducting a strategic defence review and setting out alongside that pathway the commitment to 2.5 per cent, on defence, that’s the way that we balance the requirements of stronger national security with the responsibilities of sound public finances.

“It needs to be done at pace, it will be done properly.”

Leaders from the European Political Community, set up in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will meet next week at Blenheim Palace.

The Government’s strategic defence review will be launched next week, setting out how Sir Keir Starmer intends to meet his spending target of 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Mr Healey insisted that seeking closer defence ties with Brussels would not bind the UK into a European defence force.

The Defence Secretary said, however, that Britain would seek to join more EU military programmes.

He suggested the UK could seek to join more areas of the EU’s permanent structured co-operation (Pesco) programme.

The UK is already part of one Pesco scheme for moving military equipment across the EU.

EU-UK security pact

Mr Healey said: “So we’ve proved we can do it. There are one or two other programmes which may well be programmes in which we have a unique contribution to make and we can get a great deal out of being part of a programme like that.

“That does not require any new formal agreement, it does not require an EU-UK security pact in order to do that.”

Mr Healey acknowledged that talks on the formal UK-EU security pact sought by the Government were unlikely to start this year.

“In a way the declaration in week one from the new government is seen as significant by the European Union and its members,” he said.

“You’ll know that the European Union, European Commission takes a good few months to get itself sorted out and so it won’t be until the end of the year that it’s really in a position to start doing any sort of detailed discussion with us.

“So that’s why for me on defence, we can move faster than that, we must move faster than that.”

He added: “On defence, we don’t need an EU-UK pact in order to look at where there may be areas that we can contribute on defence to a stronger European security and actually, it’s in our British interests to do a bit more together.”