Strategic defence review live: Starmer reveals largest increase in spending since Cold War as UK faces ‘new era of threat’ – UK Times

The government “will spend what is needed to deliver this review”, defence secretary John Healey has said.

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Commons: “When he said on Saturday there is ‘no doubt’ the UK defence spending will rise by 3 per cent by 2034, I nodded in approval and thought, ‘great, they’ve got a commitment’.

“By Sunday, that appears not to be the case.”

He added: “Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are all seen as threats inside this, so will he now please get to the despatch box as the character that he is and say, ‘to achieve this, we will need at least 3 per cent if not more and this government will be committed to spending it?’”

Mr Healey replied: “Look, don’t take it from me at the despatch box the afternoon, take it from the prime minister (Sir Keir Starmer) when he said we will spend what is needed to deliver this review.”

Conservative former chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt had earlier asked: “What is the difference between the chancellor’s (Rachel Reeves’s) black hole and the defence secretary accepting 62 recommendations from the SDR (strategic defence review) without committing the funds to pay for them?”

Mr Healey replied: “Because the prime minister and the government have committed the funds, we’ve committed the funds, we’ve built them into the terms of reference that allow this SDR over the next 10 years and beyond to be delivered.”

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said there has been a “total unravelling” of the strategic defence review, telling MPs: “They haven’t got a plan to fund it.

“An SDR without the funding is an empty wish list. The ships and submarines it talks of are a fantasy fleet. The reviewers were clear in the Telegraph today that the commitment to 3 per cent, and I quote, established the affordability of the plan.

“On Thursday, the defence secretary said in an interview with The Times that reaching 3 per cent was a certainty. But by the weekend he had completely backtracked to 3 per cent to being just an ambition. And today the prime minister was unable to give a date by when 3 per cent would be reached. Why? Because the treasury hasn’t approved a plan to pay for it.”

Mr Cartlidge added: “For the treasury to approve a plan, it will have to feature billions of pounds of cuts to existing MoD (Ministry of Defence) programmes and so this SDR has dodged the big decisions on existing capabilities.

“Can the secretary of state confirm that the so-called defence investment plan, to be published in the autumn, will set out the cuts needed for the treasury to agree a plan to get to 3 per cent, details we should have had today in the SDR.”

Mr Cartlidge went on: “The secretary of state says he wants to send a strong message to Moscow, but the messages he’s sending are profoundly weak.”

John Healey has insisted the Chagos Islands deal is a “great investment” as he was challenged over it in the Commons.

The defence secretary also accused the Conservative Party of being “on the wrong side” of the debate.

The strategic defence review will mark an end to an era of “hollowing out” of the armed forces, MPs were told.

Rounding off his statement to the Commons, defence secretary John Healey said: “This SDR is the first defence review in a generation for growth and for transformation in UK defence.

“It will end 14 years of hollowing out in our armed forces, and instead we will see investment increased, the navy expanded, the army grown, the air force upgraded, war fighting readiness restored, Nato strengthened, the nuclear deterrent guaranteed, advance technology developed and jobs, jobs created in every nation and region of this country.

“The Strategic Defence Review will make Britain safer, more secure at home, and stronger abroad.”

The government is aiming to be the first in a “generation” to see the number of soldiers in the British Army to increase, John Healey said.

The Defence Secretary said there would be a renewed focus on recruitment to stop the long-term decline in numbers.

Mr Healey said: “For too long our army has been asked to do more with less. We inherited a long-run recruitment crisis, 14 Tory years of cuts to full-time troops.

“Reversing this decline will take time, but we are acting to stem the loss now and aiming to increase the British Army to at least 76,000 full time soldiers in the next Parliament.

“For the first time in a generation, we are a Government who want the number of regular soldiers to rise.”

The Independent’s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:

In the foreword to the review, the defence secretary John Healey writes: “Whoever gets new technology into the hands of their Armed Forces the quickest will win

Ministers have already announced plans for up to six new munition factories, up to 12 new nuclear attack submarines, £15bn of investment in the nuclear warhead programme, 7,000 UK-built long range weapons.

At the weekend Mr Healey appeared to confirm he wants to purchase fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons, a major step up which would signal the UK recognised the world had entered a more dangerous era.

The report also calls for greater use of AI as well as a new ‘Digital Warfighter Group’ which is recommends should not be held back by constraints on how much it can pay its staff, calling for “appropriate recruitment and pay freedoms”.

The SDSR also says at least ten per cent of the MOD equipment procurement budget should be spent on new technologies every year.

It urges ministers to remove red tape and other barriers to collaboration with industry partners.

The Independent’s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:

One of the themes of the defence review is to make Britain war-ready.

This includes protecting critical infrastructure in the event of a crisis.

The SDSR calls for a new Defence Readiness Bill – which would give ministers powers to “respond effectively” in the event of an escalating conflict.

Already ministers have announced they will respond to the call for “always on munitions” by building up to six factories.