Order for 5,000 missiles for Ukraine hugely significant for Belfast – Robinson

By Jonathan McCambridge (PA)

An order for the Thales missile factory to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine is “hugely significant” for the Belfast workforce, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said.

Mr Robinson also described the heated Oval Office confrontation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “appalling” and “destructive”.

However, he said is “entirely appropriate” that his party colleague, Emma Little-Pengelly, should attend events in Washington DC to mark St Patrick’s Day and that the decision of some parties in the region to boycott the event “made no sense”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) will be made at the Thales weapons plant in Belfast, creating 200 jobs.

“This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes,” he said.

The missiles, which are capable of flying at 1.5 times the speed of sound and striking targets more than 3.7 miles (6km) away, can be used to attack enemy vehicles, boats and drones.

East Belfast MP Mr Robinson told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: “It is a hugely significant story.

“Significant because of the turbulence in international relations in the last week.

“Significant because of the contribution that Thales have been making to Ukraine since the start – in fact before the start of Russia’s brutal invasion – and significant because of the recognition that is given through this order to the skill and the ingenuity of the team at Thales.”

He added: “This order of 5,000 units in an overall package of £1.6 billion is hugely significant for the Belfast workforce. It is a recognition of their skill and what they do in our city.

“There is no point talking about international principles, no point talking about the values we respect and that we wish to protect globally if you are not prepared to stand up for them.”

Mr Robinson said Ukraine would have already fallen to Russia had it not been for missiles sent from the Belfast factory in January 2022.

He added: “We are giving the tools to make sure a sovereign country has the ability to stand against an international aggressor in Russia, a country that decided to walk over the border, destroy cities and villages and towns and kill civilians.

“Those are the values we are protecting and defending and I am pleased that Belfast plays its role in that.”

Mr Robinson said the order is helping to correct a historical underspend in defence in Northern Ireland.

“It is not that we have lack of skills or lack of product, but now you are starting to see the orders filter through and that is really encouraging for our advanced manufacturing industry, for high-tech, for skills development, for apprenticeships and for our economy,” he said.

Asked about the scenes in the White House when Mr Zelensky visited on Friday, Mr Robinson said they were “appalling”.

“I thought it was appalling that it occurred, it was appalling that it came on back of comments made through social media about Zelensky being a dictator when he is not, that he or Ukraine were responsible for the aggression of Russia, when they weren’t.

“My reflection is that meeting shouldn’t have happened because they weren’t in a position to reach agreement.

“Sometimes it is darkest before the dawn and I think it is very important that in the days that followed an international arm has been put around Volodymyr Zelensky.”

He added: “Nobody could have watched those scenes and thought they were anything other than destructive.”

Mr Robinson said he is not travelling to the US for St Patrick’s Day events, but his party colleague and deputy First Minister Ms Little-Pengelly will be making the trip.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein will not be travelling as part of her party’s protest at Mr Trump’s remarks on the Gaza Strip, and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said nobody from her party will be at the White House, although it will be sending a representative to Washington.

Mr Robinson said: “Emma Little-Pengelly is a joint leader of our Northern Ireland Executive and it is entirely appropriate as it is for the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, as it is for the Prime Minister of our country.

“International relations and international diplomacy cannot be superficially about likes on TikTok or Twitter.

“You have to take the opportunities when they arise. Sometimes that means that you have difficult conversations.

“More importantly, there is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to present itself positively amongst an ally in the United States, a country that has been supportive of Northern Ireland for many years, invests in Northern Ireland, brings jobs and opportunities to families in Northern Ireland.”

The DUP leader added: “That is the job of political leaders and there is an awful lot said about who is going but very little said about who is not going and how you can represent fully the people of Northern Ireland and assume political office with responsibilities that that entails and refuse to go, not only to the White House, but an entire city, an entire populace and a political manifestation which is interested in and wants to support Northern Ireland, that makes no sense to me.”