Starmer pledges to spend 5% of GDP on defence

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that the UK will spend 5 per cent of GDP on national security and defence by 2035.

- DAVID MADDOX

The announcement comes as he signs a new Nato deal ahead of joining leaders at the defence bloc’s summit in the Hague.

The 5 per cent figure had been demanded by Donald Trump, who has insisted that Europe needs to stop relying on the US for defence spending.

However, Downing Street has continued to say that the original aim of 3 per cent on defence after the next election remains only an "ambition" raising questions over whether the UK can afford the new commitment.

Sir Keir noted that 5 per cent would be the highest proportion of GDP spent on defence by the UK since the end of the Second World War and follows him expressing an ambition to reach 3 per cent on defence in last month's strategic defence review.

It also comes as the threats from Vladimir Putin's Russia continue to grow in Ukraine.