Strategic defence review: PM refuses to commit to date for 3% GDP target
Sir Keir Starmer said he was buoyed by the footage of Ukraine's mass drone attack in Russia overnight which is reported to have destroyed 40 Russian planes.
'[It shows] Ukraine is not defeated,' he told the BBC. 'It shows they are still there and fighting . That is a tribute to Ukraine.'
The prime minister said the three-year war between Ukraine and Russia had turned the Ukrainian army into one of Europe's toughest fighting forces.
Sir Keir Starmer rejected suggestions his Labour government could not commit the extra £13 billion to reach the 3 per cent defence funding figure because it was being forced to back down on other measures such as the winter fuel allowance.
The government is preparing to reverse its tough cuts to fuel subsidies for pensioners, but the prime minister said it would not come at the cost of defence and security.
He said he had fixed the 2.5 per cent defence funding figure to 2027, but the 3 per cent figure would not be tied to a particular date.
'I am not going to indulge in the fantasy of plucking dates from the air,' he told the BBC. 'I take the defence and security of our country very seriously. It's the most important task I have.'
The prime minister said he was hopeful of reaching the 3 per cent defence funding figure, but made no promises.
Sir Keir Starmer said that all Nato countries needed to 'step up' to boost defence spending in the current geopolitical environment.
He said that defence spending would reach 2.5 per cent by 2027-28, but denied it was 'wishful thinking' to hit 3 per cent by next parliament.
'Yes, that 3 per cent [is the target]. But I am not going to make a commitment to the exact date until we can make good on that commitment,' he told the BBC.
Sir Keir Starmer said the defence strategic review was needed because the 'world has changed', especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
'We have to recognise the world has changed and if the world has changed we have to be ready,' he told the BBC. If you want to deter conflict, then you have to prepare for conflict.'
The prime minister played down the prospect of a future nuclear warfare, but said nuclear deterrence had been an effective tool since the end of the Second World War.
'We need to ask how Nato can preserve the peace for decades to come,' he said.
Luke Pollard, the armed forces minister, has refused to guarantee that defence spending would reach 3 per cent of GDP, saying it would only happen when 'economic conditions allow'.
Before the release of the strategic defence review today, Pollard said he hoped to top the 3 per cent figure by the next parliament.
'Well, we've set out that we are spending 2.5 per cent by April 2027 with the ambition to spend 3 per cent in the next parliament when economic conditions allow,' he told Times Radio.
'I agree with the defence secretary that thanks to the chancellor getting our economy back on track by having the highest growth in the G7 that I have no doubt, just as a defence secretary doesn't, that with the growing threats that we're facing that we will be spending 3 per cent in the next parliament.'
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Britain will build up to a dozen nuclear-powered attack submarines, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce as the government unveils its strategic defence review on Monday.
The long-awaited review will set out the UK's defence plan for the next ten years.
The boats will replace the UK's seven Astute class submarines, which are armed with conventional weapons, and will be in operation from the late 2030s, joining the four Trident submarines that carry the nation's at-sea nuclear deterrent.
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