Sir Keir Starmer’s long-awaited military spending proposals have been criticised by a defence expert, who warns they fall short of preparing the UK for conflict.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a co-author of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, stated the plan, unveiled on Tuesday, "is not going to crack the issue" of adequately funding the nation’s armed forces.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) allocates an additional £15 billion for defence, which the Prime Minister hailed as "game-changing investment" in modern equipment like drones.
However, the DIP's publication was significantly delayed from last year due to internal Whitehall disputes over funding, a situation that ultimately led to the resignation of defence secretary John Healey.
Sir Richard said the fact of its publication counts as progress and there would be a “decent transformative element” to it.
“But it is still not going to crack the issue of, in order to defend the UK sufficiently well, sufficiently quickly, more has to be done sooner, and that requires more money than is currently on the table,” he said.
Sir Richard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re not keeping up with our allies, we’re certainly not keeping up with our enemies, and we know that the US is no longer going to come and save European security in the face of a Russian threat.
“So until we come to terms with the fact that we have to find more money for defence sooner, and yes, it will be at the cost of other things we like more, we are simply not going to be ready to defend this country properly.”
Mr Healey quit in protest at the Dip, which he warned would likely fall short of meeting Britain’s commitments to the Nato alliance, which has tasked all member states with hiking core defence spending to 3.5% of national economic output by 2035.
Under new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, the Dip will now focus on ramping up the UK’s use of drones and autonomous weapons, funded by a £5 billion investment, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced.
He secured some extra money for the plan, taking the full settlement to around £15 billion, according to Chancellor Rachel Reeves – up from the £13.5 billion offered to Mr Healey but short of the £28 billion defence officials previously said was needed.
Speaking at Dip’s launch, the prime minister said “I am proud to publish our new defence investment plan. This plan delivers on last year’s review, but in light of the rapidly changing world, the changing nature of conflict and the imminent and growing threats we face, it goes further still.
“This plan represents our best judgment of what the country needs to meet this moment and it is a platform on which I know my successor will build.”
The Prime Minister said Dip would reverse the “corrosive hollowing out” of the armed forces and the UK “must stand more firmly on our own two feet.”
“We must do what it takes to meet this new world head on, to keep our country safe and seize the opportunities that come from investing against our sovereign strength,” Sir Starmer said.
“That’s why we have reversed the corrosive hollowing out of our armed forces, and it’s why we’re transforming a defence programme that, frankly, for too long has been underfunded and unsuited for the threats that we face.”
Read MorePolitics latest: PM ‘takes pride’ in defence legacy he unveils criticised £15bn plan
Energy and road projects axed to fund £15bn defence investment plan
Heathrow offers therapy to residents over ‘incredibly difficult’ expansion plans
