Lammy declares 'Trump is right' on defence spending

David Lammy has declared that the hard-won “post-Cold War peace is well and truly over” as he used his first major speech of 2025 to take aim at Vladimir Putin and Russian aggression.

- DAVID MADDOX

The foreign secretary threw his weight behind demands by Donald Trump that Nato allies significantly increase their spending on defence while laughing off the president-elect’s expansionist plans for Greenland and Canada.

Mr Trump demanded earlier this week that Nato allies commit 5 per cent of GDP to defence spending. While Mr Lammy did not back that figure, he warned that “some allies are lagging behind”, and added: “We must put our money where our mouth is.”

Speaking in the Locarno Suite in the Foreign Office yesterday to an audience of diplomats and foreign policy experts, the foreign secretary said that Russian aggression had ripped up the established world order.

He said: “We have to be taken seriously by opponents and allies alike. We must put our money where our mouth is. That starts by facing facts. Donald Trump and JD Vance are simply right when they say that Europe needs to do more to defend its own continent. It is myopia to pretend otherwise, with Russia on the march.”

Underlining his policy thrust of “progressive realism”, Mr Lammy also took aim at the previous Tory governments for undermining Britain’s place in the world. He hinted at wanting to repair some of the damaged relationships with other countries – not just the EU. He also defended taking “a pragmatic approach” to relations with China, and cooperating on issues such as artificial intelligence and climate change.