Rishi Sunak to make first visit to US as PM to seal nuclear submarines deal

RISHI Sunak will make his first visit to the US as PM tomorrow where he will seal a deal for Britain to make nuclear submarines for Australia.

The PM will meet with Joe Biden and Aussie leader Anthony Albanese to shake hands on the pledge to beef up joint defence – known as the AUKUS deal.

Meanwhile, a major security review out tomorrow will commit Britain to take a tougher stance on China.

The integrated review is expected to warn that Britain’s golden era with Beijing is over but we must not entirely pull up the drawbridge on trade.

Britain should still trade with China and work on global issues like climate change and global health, it will say.

But the UK should be careful about letting China have access to our national critical infrastructure by investing in things like nuclear power plants.

The review was commissioned in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.

It will say Putin’s war and the Covid pandemic show the need to beef up our economic security.

We should do this by focusing on trading with our democratic allies, it will say.

The PM said: “In turbulent times, the UK’s global alliances are our greatest source of strength and security.

“I am travelling to the United States today to launch the next stage of the AUKUS nuclear submarine programme, a project which is binding ties to our closest allies and delivering security, new technology and economic advantage at home.

“As we launch the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh tomorrow, this is the future we want to deliver – a UK that is secure, prosperous and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners.”