Keir Starmer hits again as ex-Nato boss warns British safety ‘in peril’
Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary who co-authored last year’s Strategic Defence Review, issued a stark warning about Britain’s military security
Keir Starmer has been accused of complacency over defence(Image: House of Commons/PA Wire)
Keir Starmer has rejected a scathing public attack by a former Nato chief, who accused the Government of a “corrosive complacency” on defence.
The Prime Minister is under pressure to publish a long-delayed defence investment plan amid questions about Britain’s military capabilities in a more turbulent world. In an explosive intervention, Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary who co-authored last year’s Strategic Defence Review, warned the UK’s security was “in peril” and accused the Treasury of “vandalism”.
However Mr Starmer told MPs: “I respect Lord Robertson and I thank him again for carrying out the strategic (defence) review. My responsibility is to keep the British people safe, and that is a duty I take seriously. That is why I don’t agree with his comments.”
The PM insisted defence spending was rising rapidly and said Labour had inherited “uncosted and undeliverable” plans from the Tories. He pointed to the decision last year to hike defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, funded by cuts to the foreign aid budget, and further commitments to raise core defence spending to 3.5% by 2035, in line with a new Nato target.
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It comes after reports Rachel Reeves is looking to put up spending by £10billion over four years, despite military chiefs warning of a £28bn shortfall after years of underinvestment. The 10-year defence investment plan was due to be published in the autumn but has still not been signed off as negotiations with the Treasury run on.
Lord Robertson went public with his criticism this week, blaming the rising welfare budget and a lack of urgency from the PM for the UK being unprepared for war. He said: “We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget.”
Defence Secretary John Healey also said he did not agree with Lord Robertson’s assessment. Speaking after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, Mr Healey said: “There’s no complacency, and we are getting on with the job in Government, we’re getting on with the job of delivering that strategic defence review, of defending Britain.”
The Defence Secretary went on: “I would say to our politicians in parliament as I say to the British public: we know the threats that we face in Britain and that we face together as NATO allies are rising.
“We know the demands on defence are rising. We have demonstrated in less than two years as a Labour government that we are ready to make the decisions to increase defence investment, and we are doing that by the biggest amount since the end of the Cold War.”
But Labour MP Tan Dhesi, who chairs the defence select committee, said the warning was sobering. He told the Commons: “His comments align with what the Defence Committee has been highlighting for several months now, that we are ill prepared to face the threats that we as a nation currently are facing in a more volatile world.
“And that is why the Government’s rhetoric must align with reality, and we must ensure that we get to that 3% GDP spend on defence in this Parliament. “We cannot afford to kick the can down the road to the next Parliament.”
Emma Lewell, the Labour MP for South Shields, said bolstering defence investment “should not come at the expense of those pensioners and people with disabilities receiving welfare”.
