SIR Keir Starmer today puts the country on a war footing — as he warns we must prepare to “fight and win” against our enemies.
The Prime Minister is ordering the biggest investment in the production of guns and bombs since the Cold War.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, Sir Keir said Britain is facing a “more dangerous world” and the time has come to “transform how we defend these islands”.
He added: “We will meet this moment head on — by mounting the kind of response not seen before in most of our lifetimes.
“We will restore Britain’s war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our Armed Forces.
“We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces.
“So we must be ready to fight and win. After all, the best way to prevent conflict is by preparing for it.”
Unveiling key details of the long-awaited Strategic Defence Review, he revealed the UK will move to wartime levels of arms production by building six new munitions factories.
This £1.5billion investment will create or support nearly 2,000 jobs across the country. Some 7,000 long-range weapons will also be bought.
It is the biggest rearmament programme the nation has seen in decades and will move the UK to an “always-on” level of production.
In recent years, our stockpiles of guns and missiles have nearly run dry as we donated so many to Ukraine.
And the PM said the world is more dangerous than it has been in generations as we face the threat of tyrants in Russia, Iran and North Korea.
He said this requires a “fundamental shift” in Britain’s military might, saying: “It’s time to bring together a whole of society effort to keep Britain safe.
“That means business, society, tech experts and more all working together.
“And it means seizing this opportunity to change our country for the better.”
Ministers have vowed to ramp up defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income in 2027.
Defence Secretary John Healey said he has no doubt UK defence spending will rise to 3 per cent by 2034.
Overall, spending on weapons will hit £6billion by 2029.
Mr Healey said: “We’re strengthening the UK’s industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”
