I'm John Besser with my colleague Joseph Sternberg.

He's a member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.

He's in London.

He writes political economics. He observes life in London. There is a new

Prime Minister and the PM is getting used to the public and its reactions and

vice versa.

And of note now, geopolitical note, the Prime Minister and his entourage travelled to Washington

and sat with the President of the United States.

And among the items they discussed were headlined were use of the storm shadow missiles from Britain

that have been used successfully in the Black Sea, I'm told.

But in this instance, Mr. Zelensky of Ukraine is asking Mr. Starmer of the United Kingdom

for permission to use those missiles into Russia against defense establishments, Russian defense establishments.

Mr. Starmer is asking Mr. Biden as leader of NATO for permission to give permission to

Mr. Zelensky to use them.

They're very carefully. This is the Prime Minister checking all the boxes.

How is it perceived, Joe?

Well, I think, John, what's interesting about the story first off is that it's an encouraging sign that Kiestarma wants to allow the Ukrainians to use these weapons in this way because you've had an enormous amount of bluster from the Kremlin in

Vladimir Putin threatening the UK trying to warn Kirstarmer off of giving Britain's

permission for the use of these weapons to attack targets within Russia.

And Starmer seems to be keeping his nerve. So I think in that perspective it's a good sign.

While it also is troubling that you seem to have this divide between the UK and the US,

where it's the US that is saying, well, no, we don't want you to go ahead with this thing that you otherwise would be willing to do.

...