Keir Starmer to put UK on war footing amid 'new threats' in 'dangerous world'
Keir Starmer will this morning announce a huge expansion of the UK's submarine fleet as he warns the country needs to be on a war footing.
A long-awaited strategic defence review will be published today, with the Government commiting to build 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15billion in its warhead programme. Defence minister Luke Pollard told BBC Breakfast the world is now "more dangerous" and ominously stated: "We're certainly not at war at the moment, but it's also true that we're certainly not at peace."
Mr Starmer will give a speech in Scotland at around 10am to outline the plans, which will be released this afternoon. Defence Secretary John Healey said last night that Britain "must act decisively to face down Russian aggression".
Defence minister Luke Pollard has said the UK is "certainly not at war at the moment, but it's also true that we're certainly not at peace".
He said action was needed to prevent conflict, telling BBC Breakfast: I think all your viewers will have seen the appalling scenes from Ukraine over recent years. They'll be aware that the world is more dangerous. They'll be aware that to secure our freedom and our economic prosperity, we have to invest in our national security.
"It's the first duty of any government to keep our country safe, but it's also the first mission of this Labour Government to grow our economy by investing in defence. We're creating jobs in every single part of United Kingdom."
He went on: "I don't want us to go to war. I want us to deter aggression. That is precisely what the defence review sets out to do today."
In response to the Strategic Defence Review, the Government's commitments will include:
Getting the armed forces to a stage where it would be ready to fight a war
Boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and making sure there is capacity to scale up production if needed in a crisis or war
£1.5billion to set up at least six munitions factories
Buying up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons in a move due to support 800 defence jobs
Setting up a new cyber command and investing £1billion in digital capabilities
More than £1.5billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing
Boosting recruitment for Britain's armed forces - with the number of cadets increasing by 30%
A minister has again refused to guarantee that the Government will spend 3% of the UK's economic output on defence in the next Parliament.
Labour frontbencher Luke Pollard said the commitment would be dependent on the state of the ecomomy. It comes after Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday could not confirm that the Treasury would fund the plan to bring spending up to 3% of GDP by 2034.
Asked on Monday morning whether the 3% commitment remained a guarantee, defence minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio: "Well, we've set out that we are spending 2.5% by April 2027, with the ambition to spend 3% in the next parliament, when economic conditions allow."
Pressed about the commitment, Mr Pollard added: "Well I've got no doubt that we will get to 3% in the next parliament, as I've said a number of times."
The defence minister said the strategic defence review, a wide-ranging investigation into the UK's defence being published on Monday, is the "biggest transformation of our armed forces in 100 years".He said: "It seeks to learn the lessons from the war in Ukraine, refresh our capabilities, invest in our people, and underscore that increased defence spending up to 2.5% of our GDP by April 2027 is an engine for growth."
Keir Starmer will today announce major plans to almost double the UK's nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
The Prime Minister will set out the building of 12 new attack submarines as part of the AUKUS programme, a security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US.
He will also announce a major £15billion investment in the UK's nuclear warhead programme. The PM will make the announcements as he unveils the Government's new Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The externally-led review is expected to recommend the Armed Forces move to warfighting readiness to deter the growing threats faced by the UK.
The UK currently has five Astute class attack submarines, which are on track to become a fleet of seven warships in the near future. These will be replaced one by one with the new SSN-AUKUS attack submarines from the late 2030s. A further five new submarines will take the total to 12.
A major expansion of the industrial capabilities at Barrow and Raynesway, Derby, will see a new submarine built every 18 months in the future. These will all be built by the UK and operated by the Royal Navy.
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