Britain is to develop a new generation of "deep strike" missiles capable of reaching Moscow, in a £40billion project unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday. The Prime Minister will announce plans to work with around a dozen Nato allies on the weapons, which are intended to deter Russian aggression and, for the first time, bring the Kremlin within range of conventional missiles fired from the UK.

The "Deep Precision Strike" missiles could eventually hit targets up to 1,500 miles away with what is described as "pinpoint accuracy" — roughly four times the range of the UK's existing Storm Shadow missiles, which Ukraine is using against Russia. Designed to strike military targets such as air bases and missile silos deep in enemy territory, the project will be launched at a Nato summit in Ankara, where European nations are seeking to demonstrate their commitment to collective defence.