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Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
UK will be FORCED to ramp up defence spending after Keir refused to commit to funding despite ‘battle ready' promise
A defence source said Britain's ministers have 'been in denial' WAR READY UK will be FORCED to ramp up defence spending after Keir refused to commit to funding despite 'battle ready' promise Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITAIN will be steamrollered into ramping up defence spending when Nato allies agree to a target of 3.5 per cent of GDP at a summit later this month. Labour's pledge to 'lead in Nato' would be blown to smithereens if Britain is left behind, a top defence insider said. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Sir Keir Starmer vowed to get Britain 'battle ready' Credit: PA 3 Starmer will discuss the NATO target this week Credit: Getty 3 Donald Trump has demanded allies spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence Credit: Reuters Top Brass have been baffled by Kier Starmer's refusal to say when he will hit Labour's target of spending 3 per cent. The PM vowed to get Britain "battle ready" yesterday with new doomsday nukes and robotic fighter jets – but refused to say how he will fund it. Donald Trump has demanded allies spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence – and he has threatened to abandon nations that fail to pay their way. Nato's chief Mark Rutte has successfully lobbied allies to try and hit Trump's target by spending 3.5 per cent on core defence – including troops, tanks and ships – and 1.5 per cent on security and infrastructure, including spy agencies. Read more on News BLAZE ARREST Fourth man arrested over 'arson attack' at homes linked to Sir Keir Starmer Strategic Defence Review: Five Key Defence Pledges Up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines to be built under the Aukust pact £15bn investment in the UK's nuclear warhead programme to maintain and modernise the deterrent New Cyber Command to be established, with £1 billion invested in digital warfare capabilities Up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons to be purchased, supporting 800 defence jobs More than £1.5bn in extra funding to repair and renew armed forces housing France's President Macron has backed Rutte's demands. And Germany is already on course to hit the target within the next few years. A defence source said Britain's ministers have 'been in denial' about the looming Nato summit and pledges key allies will make. Starmer is expected to discuss the Nato target in a crunch meeting this week. A defence source said: 'Do we want to be lumped with Spain as the only allies that are complaining?' At the launch a landmark Strategic Defence Review Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'Our defence policy is Nato First. China & Russia will use drones 'the size of insects' to spy on UK & commit untraceable murders, ex-Google futurist warns 'We will end the hollowing out of our Armed Forces and lead in a stronger, more lethal Nato.' Labour has pledged to increase defence spending from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2027. Starmer said: 'We have set the ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next Parliament, subject to economic and fiscal conditions.' But pressed on what that meant, he said: 'I'm not going to indulge in the fantasy politics of simply plucking dates from the air.' Defence Secretary Healey said the 3 per cent target was a "certainty But he backtracked 24-hours later, insisting it was merely an "ambition". Britain's three biggest weapons programmes – including the Trident 2 nuclear deterrent, the new sixth generation fighter jets and new hunter killer submarines – will cost at least 3 per cent of GDP, a former defence minister told The Sun.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
UK will be FORCED to ramp up defence spending after Keir refused to commit to funding despite ‘battle ready' promise
BRITAIN will be steamrollered into ramping up defence spending when Nato allies agree to a target of 3.5 per cent of GDP at a summit later this month. Labour's pledge to 'lead in Nato' would be blown to smithereens if Britain is left behind, a top defence insider said. Advertisement 3 Sir Keir Starmer vowed to get Britain 'battle ready' Credit: PA 3 Starmer will discuss the NATO target this week Credit: Getty 3 Donald Trump has demanded allies spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence Credit: Reuters Top Brass have been baffled by Kier Starmer's refusal to say when he will hit Labour's target of spending 3 per cent. The PM vowed to get Britain "battle ready" yesterday with new doomsday nukes and robotic fighter jets – but refused to say how he will fund it. Donald Trump has demanded allies spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence – and he has threatened to abandon nations that fail to pay their way. Nato's chief Advertisement Read more on News Strategic Defence Review: Five Key Defence Pledges Up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines to be built under the Aukust pact £15bn investment in the UK's nuclear warhead programme to maintain and modernise the deterrent New Cyber Command to be established, with £1 billion invested in digital warfare capabilities Up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons to be purchased, supporting 800 defence jobs More than £1.5bn in extra funding to repair and renew armed forces housing And next few years. Most read in The Sun A defence source said Britain's ministers have 'been in denial' about the looming Nato summit and pledges key allies will make. Advertisement Starmer is expected to discuss the Nato target in a crunch meeting this week. A defence source said: 'Do we want to be lumped with Spain as the only allies that are complaining?' At the launch a landmark Strategic Defence Review Defence Secretary China & Russia will use drones 'the size of insects' to spy on UK & commit untraceable murders, ex-Google futurist warns 'We will end the hollowing out of our Armed Forces and lead in a stronger, more lethal Nato.' Advertisement Labour has pledged to increase defence spending from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2027. Starmer said: 'We have set the ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next Parliament, subject to economic and fiscal conditions.' But pressed on what that meant, he said: 'I'm not going to indulge in the fantasy politics of simply plucking dates from the air.' Defence Secretary Healey said the 3 per cent target was a "certainty Advertisement But he backtracked 24-hours later, insisting it was merely an "ambition". Britain's three biggest weapons programmes – including the Trident 2 nuclear deterrent, the new sixth generation fighter jets and new hunter killer submarines – will cost at least 3 per cent of GDP, a former defence minister told The Sun. Strategic error ON the face of it, there is good news in Labour's Strategic Defence Review. Up to 12 submarines to head off threats from Russia at sea. New weapons and munitions factories to replace those stocks depleted by donations to Ukraine. But will the billions needed to pay for all these new fighter jets, drones and hi-tech weaponry actually be found? Defence chiefs say it will take investment of three per cent of GDP. Yet Keir Starmer yesterday refused to put a timeline on achieving that. By 2027 it will still be only 2.5 per cent — when experts say we need five per cent to re-arm properly. If the Prime Minister has doubts about where to find the cash, he could try diverting money from less pressing areas — like binning Net Zero and free hotels for migrants. A pity, too, that his Government is handing Mauritius £30billion on top of surrendering the Chagos Islands. At the very least, the PM's uncertainty also throws the delivery time of new projects into doubt. New subs, for example, already won't be serviceable until the late 2030s. Sir Keir says the nation is on a war footing as of now. But it cannot take decades before we are ready to actually fight one.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Five terrifying ways enemies would hit Britain if it goes to war laid bare in official report
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITAIN would get blitzed with long-range drones, ballistic and cruise missiles if it had to fight a war this year. A landmark Strategic Defence Review set out five 'methods of attack' the UK should expect if it was forced into state-on-state conflict. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 11 The test firing of an ICBM belonging to Russia's nuclear deterrence forces Credit: Alamy 11 A drone is seen during a Russian aerial strike in Kyiv Credit: Reuters 11 Everything from oil rigs and subsea cables to satellites and merchant ships would also face cyber attacks Credit: Getty 11 Keir Starmer warned that 'a step change in the threats we face demands a step-change in British defence to meet them' Credit: PA These five methods are: Attacks on the armed forces in the UK and on overseas bases Air and missile attacks from long range drones, cruise and ballistic missiles targeting military infrastructure and vital national infrastructure Increased cyber attacks Attempts to disrupt the UK economy - especially the industry that supports the armed forces - through cyber attacks, intercepting shipping trade and attacks on space-based infrastructure Efforts to manipulate information and undermine social cohesion and political will Bases, ports and airfields in Britain and around the world be the first to get bombarded. And everything from oil rigs and subsea cables to satellites and merchant ships would also face cyber attacks and sabotage. The dossier warned: 'Based on the current way of war, if the UK were to fight a state-on-state war as part of Nato in 2025, it could expect to be subject to some or all of the following methods of attack: 'Attacks on the armed forces in the UK and overseas bases." Major bases would include the Navy's three main ports at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Clyde as well as outposts around the world, such as the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean and RAF Akoritiri in Cyprus. The report also warned of: 'Air and missile attack from long-rage drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, targeting military infrastructure and critical national infrastructure in the UK.' The UK has no land based missile defence systems and relies on its six Royal Navy destroyers to intercept ballistic or hypersonic missile which Russia has used to blitz Ukraine. Strategic Defence Review: Five Key Defence Pledges Up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines to be built under the Aukust pact £15bn investment in the UK's nuclear warhead programme to maintain and modernise the deterrent New Cyber Command to be established, with £1 billion invested in digital warfare capabilities Up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons to be purchased, supporting 800 defence jobs More than £1.5bn in extra funding to repair and renew armed forces housing But the government has pledged to invest £1bn in a new Iron Dome-style defence system to 'protect the homeland'. Other attacks in an all out war would include 'increased sabotage and cyber-attacks affecting on and offshore critical national infrastructure.' 11 A Russian Air Force jet carries a high-precision hypersonic aero-ballistic missile Credit: AP 11 Air and missile attack from long-rage drones are also a risk Credit: Getty 11 Devonport Royal Navy maintenance depot at HMS Drake, Plymouth Credit: Alamy 11 HMS Vanguard, Britain's first Trident submarine, enters its base on the River Clyde, Scotland Credit: PA The report warns Britain is already 'under daily attack' in the so-called grey zone, which includes cyber hacks and sabotage 'beneath the threshold of war'. It also warned the citizens to expect 'attempts to disrupt the UK economy, especially the industry that supports the armed forces, including through cyber attack, the interdiction of maritime trade, and attacks on space-based critical national infrastructure'. Finally, it warned the UK would face a massive propaganda blitz designed 'to manipulate information and undermine social cohesion and political will.' The review sets out plans to grow the Army, renew Britain's nukes and recruit up to 250,000 cadets to get the country ready for 'whole of society approach' to defence and resilience. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned that, 'a step change in the threats we face demands a step-change in British defence to meet them'. He added: 'We need to see the biggest shift in mindset in my lifetime to put security and defence front and centre – to make it the fundamental organising principle of government.' Vital War Chest AFTER years of Whitehall deciding that defending the nation didn't matter, the Government is right to now increase spending as part of today's Strategic Defence Review. Given massive global uncertainty, the UK should be on a war footing. Yet there are concerns that the review doesn't go far enough. There is still doubt over whether or when Labour will spend three per cent of GDP on defence. Planned submarines and weapons factories are also still decades away. Then there's Britain's appalling record on procurement which has wasted billions on dud kit. There is still a great deal more for this Government to do. 11 Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, 2024 Credit: EPA 11 Bases, ports and airfields in Britain and around the world be the first to get bombarded Credit: Neil Hope
