UK PM Starmer Gifted Gun, Live Ammunition By Turkish President At NATO Summit

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was presented with a personalised revolver and live ammunition by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the NATO summit in Ankara, with the firearm expected to be decommissioned before it can be brought into the United Kingdom.

The revolver, engraved with Starmer's name, was one of a series of identical gifts reportedly presented to heads of government attending the summit.

However, the firearm was not taken back to Britain and remains in the custody of British officials in Turkey because UK law prohibits the importation of a live firearm.

Although President Erdogan waived Turkish export controls to allow the gift to leave the country, British authorities decided to leave it behind pending decommissioning. Once rendered inoperable, the revolver is expected to be returned to the UK.

Downing Street has not released photographs of the personalised firearm.

The unusual diplomatic gift emerged after Starmer met Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit, where both leaders signed a defence cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening intelligence sharing and security collaboration between the United Kingdom and Turkey.

Speaking after the summit, Starmer described the gathering as successful, saying it reinforced unity among NATO allies at a time of heightened global tensions.

"This has been a good summit. We achieved what we wanted to achieve, which is unity.

"So important we have that, particularly with the conflicts going on in Ukraine and the conflicts in Iran," the prime minister said.

The NATO summit is expected to be Starmer's final major international engagement after he announced last month that he would step down as Britain's prime minister.