Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has been in Washington for talks with his US counterpart amid reports Putin may detonate a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea.
The prime minister’s official spokesman would not comment on Wallace’s meeting, but said: “We are very clear with Putin that the use of nuclear weapons will have serious consequences.”
He added: “I would move away from speculating on this as an issue. I think the public needs to be reassured that we are taking strong leadership in this area.
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“I think it would be a mistake to speculate about this instead of focusing on what we’re seeing day in and day out, which is a senseless and barbaric attack on civilians across Ukraine.”
It comes after The Sun newspaper quoted a security source as saying the “threat” of Putin’s nuclear weapons “has increased recently”.
Wallace, who is also MP for Wyre and Preston North, pulled out of a planned session with the Commons Defense Committee on Tuesday to take part in talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin.
A senior defense source said: “There has been a lot of speculation as to why the defense secretary traveled to Washington.
“As we approach winter in Ukraine with its successes on the battlefield against Russian forces and in light of Putin’s recent actions, it was important to meet face-to-face with the Secretary of Defense United, Lloyd Austin, and others in the US Administration to discuss our shared security concerns.”
On Wednesday, Putin declared martial law in the annexed regions of Ukraine, increasing Kremlin control.