Starmer pressured by army chiefs on defence spending

PM flies to Nato summit with ‘iron commitment' to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP - but ex-military heads call for timetable

- DAVID MADDOX, TOM WATLING, KATE DEVLIN

Sir Keir Starmer has doubled down on his "iron commitment" to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent but waded into a row with military chiefs as he failed to set a timetable to meet his pledge.

The new prime minister flew to the Nato summit in Washington DC with his wife Victoria yesterday for his first international visit since winning the general election last week. With the situation at crisis point in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin’s Russian army bombed a children’s hospital and Voydymyr Zelensky’s forces warned they are running out of ammunition, the defence gathering is being billed as the most important since the invasion began.

During the recent UK election campaign, Sir Keir was challenged repeatedly by his predecessor Rishi Sunak whether he would meet the Conservative commitment to 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 after the Tories tried to make it an issue with voters. While the prime minister continues to resist setting a date to match the spending rise, he has revealed he will launch his first Strategic Defence and Security Review next week, which should provide a timetable and priorities on spending.

On the flight to Washington yesterday, Sir Keir said: “We will carry out our strategic review to look at the challenges. the capabilities, and on the back of that make further plans. I’m committed to the 2.5 per cent within our fiscal rules, [but] that strategic review needs to come first.”

He added: “Today, tomorrow, and the next day is all about standing together with our allies … discussing practically how we provide further support for Ukraine and send a very, very clear message to Putin that we will stand against Russian aggression wherever it is in the world.”