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Scottish Sun
17 hours 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
17 hours 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UK plans to build six weapons factories to bolster military readiness
The UK will spend £1.5bn on building six munitions and energetics factories to 'better deter our adversaries' as part of its long-awaited strategic defence review. John Healey, the defence secretary, said the funds formed part of plans for an 'always-on' weapons pipeline and would support the procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons. The 130-page strategic defence review will set out the threats Britain faces, including the 'immediate and pressing' danger posed by Russia, and the capabilities needed to meet them. Due to be unveiled by Keir Starmer on Monday, it will draw heavily on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Plans to step up munitions production are a response to the review's call for an 'always on' capacity that can be scaled up quickly if needed. Healey said: 'The hard-fought lessons from Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them. We are strengthening the UK's industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.' He said the UK defence industry would become 'an engine for economic growth' and boost skilled jobs. The new £1.5bn funding will see spending on UK munitions hit £6bn during this parliament and support 1,800 jobs across the UK, according to the Ministry of Defence. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said that 'a strong economy needs a strong national defence, and investing in weaponry and munitions and backing nearly 2,000 jobs across Britain in doing so is proof the two go hand-in-hand'. As part of the review, the Ministry of Defence will be urged to lay the industrial foundations for an uplift in munitions stockpiles to meet the demand of 'high-tempo' warfare. Ministers have also announced more than £1.5bn to improve the condition of military homes by carrying out urgent repairs such as fixing boilers and roofs and tackling damp. 'Our forces make extraordinary sacrifices to keep us safe and to serve this country and yet for years, we've forced their families to live in substandard homes,' Healey said on a visit to military accommodation in Cambridgeshire. Starmer launched the strategic defence review shortly after entering office last year and said it would help prepare the UK for 'a more dangerous and volatile world'. The document will paint a picture of the most heightened military and security threat since the end of the cold war, though it falls short of saying that the intensity of Moscow's cyber and sabotage activities means the UK has already drifted into a war with Russia. It will also set out an assessment of the current state of the UK's armed forces. Figures out this week show that the size of the army has dropped below the target to the lowest level since the Napoleonic era and earlier, with the number of full-time trained soldiers at 70,860 on 1 April, down 2.3% over the preceding year. The review is not expected to set out fresh commitments for defence spending, but will instead reiterate a commitment made by Starmer in February to increase the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and to 3% in the next parliament. It was written by former Nato secretary-general George Robertson, former US presidential adviser Fiona Hill and former joint force commander Richard Barrons.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
UK to build 12 new submarines and six new munition factories
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce on Monday that the UK will build 12 new attack submarines and six new ammunition factories as part of a Strategic Defence Review. The externally-led review will outline 62 recommendations, which the government is expected to endorse in full, including moving the Armed Forces into a state of "warfighting readiness". "This Strategic Defence Review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our Armed Forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future," Starmer is expected to say. The 12 new conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines will be built as part of the AUKUS programme concluded in 2021 between Australia, the UK, and the US and should come online in the late 2030s. The programme will be accompanied by a £15 billion (€17.8 billion) investment in nuclear warheads. Another key plank of the review is the procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons and a £1.5 billion (€1.8 billion) investment to build at least six munitions and energetics factories. One of these production capacities is expected to be "always on" to allow for production to be ramped up quickly to meet the demand of high-tempo warfare, if necessary. "The hard-fought lessons from Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them," Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement. "We are strengthening the UK's industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad," he added. The government will also put forward £1 billion (€1.2 billion) in a new CyberEM Command to boost cyber operations and digital capability, as well as £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing. The investments should make some way into Britain's goal, unveiled earlier this year, to boost defence spending to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product by 2027 and to 3% in the next parliament. Britain, a NATO member, will on Wednesday co-chair a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which aims to coordinate military support to Ukraine in response to Russia's full-scale invasion involving 56 countries. Defence ministers from the alliance will meet on Thursday to continue talks on increasing the defence spending target from its current 2% of GDP level. Allies appear to have landed on a 5% of GDP target, a number repeatedly called for by Trump, although it would be split in two: 3.5% of GDP for hard military spending, and a further 1.5% on defence-related spending including, for instance, infrastructure and cybersecurity. The new target will be endorsed by NATO at a summit in The Hague later this month.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
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. Click here for the full story
