SIR Keir Starmer yesterday vowed to turn Britain into a “battle-ready, armour-clad nation” — but could not say how he will pay for it.
The PM refused to give a firm date for hitting his flagship three per cent defence spending target — triggering warnings that his big plans risk falling apart.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to turn Britain into a ‘battle-ready, armour-clad nation’ — but could not say how it will be funded[/caption]
The PM says the country needs to react to the threat caused by the likes of Putin[/caption]
His Strategic Defence Review includes a pledge to build 12 attack subs, six new munitions factories, creating around 1,000 jobs, and a £15billion boost for the warhead programme.
More advanced drones, cyber defences and battlefield tech also aim to make the military ten times more lethal by 2035 — to deal with threats such as Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Sir Keir said in Glasgow: “The threat we now face is more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War. The front line, if you like, is here.”
He said the plan would create “a battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances, and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come”.
But the refusal to give a firm date on increasing spending — an increase on 2.5 per cent from 2027 — sparked backlash.
Ex-Army chief Lord Dannatt told Times Radio: “It’s a bit like saying in 1938 to Adolf Hitler, ‘Please don’t attack us until 1946 because we are not going to be ready’.”
He added: “This rather vague commitment to move to three per cent by the end of the next Parliament, 2034, just doesn’t stack up.”
Sir Keir claimed he was “100 per cent confident” the plan would be delivered, but admitted the three per cent figure was an “ambition”, not a commitment.
Top brass and economists warned hefty taxes may be the only way to fund the plans.
