Foreign aid slashed to meet hike in defence spending

Sir Keir Starmer has bowed to pressure from Donald Trump to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by slashing foreign aid.

- DAVID MADDOX KATE DEVLIN

The announcement came just 24 hours before the prime minister flies to Washington DC for his first meeting with the US president since the inauguration last month.

It comes at a time when the White House is piling pressure on European allies in Nato to massively increase their own share of the cost of defence as Mr Trump appears to be on the verge of turning his back on Ukraine.

The announcement to a stunned parliament has been condemned by senior Labour figures, including former foreign secretary David Miliband and aid charities, who have accused Sir Keir of “abandoning the poorest in the world”.

Sir Keir told a press conference in Downing Street that the decision had been “three years in the making” since the fullscale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, describing his decision as “a generational moment”.

Challenged on whether he had been bounced by Mr Trump into the decision, Sir Keir said: “Well, this is a significant moment and that is why we’ve got to rise to this generational challenge. It is a moment where we have to fight for peace through the reaction that we take ... I think in our heart of hearts, we’ve all known that this decision has been coming for three years since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

“The last few weeks have accelerated my thinking on when we need to make this announcement, and I’ll be very clear about it because it is absolutely clear to me now that the decision that, as it were, started life three years ago, needs to be taken now.”

The prime minister is set to meet with other European leaders this weekend in London to discuss Europe’s defence strategy, having been briefed by French president Emmanuel Macron about his visit to the White House on Monday.