WAR READY
Keir unveils defence overhaul making UK 10x MORE lethal as Putin threat looms – but STILL won’t commit to funding boost
And scroll to read why critics are claiming Defence Sec John Healey has been hung out to dry by Rachel Reeves
SIR Keir Starmer today refused to say when he will boost defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP – despite warnings his big military review depends on it.
The PM dodged calls to set a deadline, insisting it was still his “ambition” to hit the figure at some point during this Parliament.
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Pressed repeatedly on the timing, he said: “I am not, as the Prime Minister of a Labour government, going to make a commitment as to the precise date until I can be sure precisely where the money is coming from.”
His refusal to commit overshadowed the launch of Labour’s Strategic Defence Review unveiled in a major speech at a Glasgow shipyard.
Sir Keir told the BBC: “The defence review that we are launching today was premised on it going to 2.5 per cent, so that is deliverable.
“We do need to go on from there and that is why I have said the ambition for 3 per cent in the next government, subject obviously to fiscal rules.”
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During a Q&A later on, the PM was told that the authors of the Strategic Defence Review said their recommendations could only be delivered if defence spending increases to 3 per cent of GDP.
Asked if he was committed to spending the necessary money to deliver everything in the review, he said: “We are committed to spending what we need to deliver this review.
“That is the basis on which the terms of reference were set and that is the terms on which the review was published.
"Everything that can be done will be done within the spending envelope that we have.”
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Strategic Defence Review: Five Key Defence Pledges
- Up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines to be built under the Aukust pact
- £15bn investment in the UK's nuclear warhead programme to maintain and modernise the deterrent
- New Cyber Command to be established, with £1 billion invested in digital warfare capabilities
- Up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons to be purchased, supporting 800 defence jobs
- More than £1.5bn in extra funding to repair and renew armed forces housing
During his speech, Sir Keir promised a major boost for British jobs and industry – including six new munitions factories creating 1,000 roles and 12 new attack submarines, with one delivered every 18 months.
He vowed to build “world leading drone capabilities” and invest £15 billion in the UK’s nuclear warhead programme.
And the Prime Minister also pledged the UK’s armed forces will be ten times more lethal by 2035.
Speaking about the importance of different parts of the military being able to work seamlessly together, he said: “Drones, destroyers, AI, aircraft.
"Each different branch of our armed services fully integrated to create an army which is 10 times more lethal by 2035.”
The long-awaited Strategic Defence Review will involve “moving to war-fighting readiness”.
Up to 12 nuclear-powered subs will be built under the AUKUS security partnership with the US and Australia.
They are conventionally-armed with Tomahawk missiles and are mainly used as intelligence gatherers, lurking off hostile coastlines to intercept communications.
Our nuclear deterrent has been the ultimate guarantee of security in this country
John Healey
They can also deploy special forces and drones.
Sir Keir said a separate £15billion nuclear warheads boost will guarantee the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrent until 2030 and protect 9,000 jobs.
But confusion over the funding cast a shadow over the high-profile launch.
Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC yesterday: “Our nuclear deterrent has been the ultimate guarantee of security in this country.
"It’s what Putin fears most.
Vital War Chest
AFTER years of Whitehall deciding that defending the nation didn’t matter, the Government is right to now increase spending as part of today’s Strategic Defence Review.
Given massive global uncertainty, the UK should be on a war footing.
Yet there are concerns that the review doesn’t go far enough.
There is still doubt over whether or when Labour will spend three per cent of GDP on defence.
Planned submarines and weapons factories are also still decades away.
Then there’s Britain’s appalling record on procurement which has wasted
billions on dud kit. There is still a great deal more for this Government to do.
UK launches StormShroud drones that will fly ahead of Brit fighter jets & jam enemy air defences to ‘stand up to Putin’
“And we are the only nation in Nato that commits our nuclear deterrent, in full, to the defence of other Nato allies.”
The Strategic Defence Review — carried out by ex-Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson — makes 62 recommendations.
But a dust-up is brewing after Labour said the three per cent funding promise was a mere “ambition” if the economy allowed.
Mr Healey appeared to try to bounce Ms Reeves into coughing up by saying: “I have no doubt that we’ll hit that ambition during the next Parliament.”
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Yet he noticeably did not say, when pressed, if he had cast-iron assurances.
Tories want the target hit before the next election.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said: “John Healey has been hung out to dry by Rachel Reeves.
"As recently as Thursday, Healey promised that defence spending would definitely hit three per cent, but today he’s completely backtracked.”
Labour also appear to be welching on pledges to reverse the 10,000 cut to troop numbers under the Tories.
Mr Healey admitted it would only come in the “next Parliament”.
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He added: “We’ve still got more people leaving than joining. The first job is to reverse that trend.”
It had been reported he had hoped to secure £2.5billion to increase troop numbers to 76,000.
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