George Robertson, the former Nato secretary general and author of the government's strategic defence review, has launched a scathing attack on Keir Starmer's military policy, accusing the government of showing a 'corrosive complacency towards defence' that has put the UK in peril.
In a lecture in Salisbury on Tuesday, Lord Robertson will warn that the Iran war 'has to be a rude wake-up call' and will accuse 'non-military experts in the Treasury' of 'vandalism'. He will say: 'We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget.'
Robertson, a former defence secretary who led Nato from 1999 to 2003, believes Starmer is 'not willing to make the necessary investment', according to the Financial Times. He will also state in his speech: 'We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe … Britain's national security and safety is in peril.'
The former general Richard Barrons, who co-authored the defence review with Robertson, echoed his concerns, saying: 'There's an enormous gap between where we have to be to keep the country safe in the world we now live in, and where we actually are.' Barrons also expressed sorrow at US defence secretary Pete Hegseth mocking the Royal Navy, but admitted he could not argue with him as the armed forces are 'too small and too undernourished'.
The government's proposals to fund the strategic defence review recommendations, including a 10-year defence investment plan due by last autumn, have been repeatedly postponed amid warnings that the military faces a £28bn funding gap over the next four years. Barrons said the prime minister must either find more money or announce £28bn worth of cuts.
A government spokesperson said: 'We are delivering on the strategic defence review to meet the threats we face. It is backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war, with a total of over £270bn being invested across this parliament.' They added that the government was finalising the defence investment plan.
