The Government is expected to finally unveil a long-delayed defence plan next week, amid claims the vital package has been slashed by as much as £3 billion. The 10-year defence investment plan (DIP), which was originally supposed to be published last autumn, could come as soon as next Thursday.
Plan Details and Delays
The DIP will set out how new equipment and defence infrastructure will be funded over the coming decade and follows last June's publication of the wide-ranging strategic defence review. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are said to have held fresh talks this week ahead of the publication of the DIP.
It had previously been expected the DIP would set out how an extra £18 billion in defence spending will be invested over the next four years. But The Times reported this could now be reduced to just £15 billion over the next four years, amid concern about the state of the public finances and the economic impact of the Iran crisis.
NATO Warnings
A former top NATO boss warned that watering down the DIP could leave Britain appearing as a 'soft touch' to Russia. Richard Sheriff, the former deputy supreme allied commander to NATO, said the UK would 'look really, really stupid if this thing is not taken through properly'. Defence Secretary John Healey this week told MPs that Sir Keir is 'determined' to publish the DIP ahead of an upcoming NATO summit in Turkey on 7 July.
The long delay to the plans has been blamed on a wrangle between Mr Healey's Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Ms Reeves' Treasury. Jonathan Powell, the PM's national security adviser, is reported to have warned Sir Keir in a letter that Britain would struggle to maintain its position on defence if it failed to invest an extra £18 billion. Antonia Romeo, the Cabinet Secretary, is also said to have backed the higher figure.
International Concerns
An American official said that if the extra money for defence dropped much below £18 billion then it would send a 'negative signal' to US President Donald Trump. Senior defence figures have even warned that £18 billion over four years is too little, after it emerged the MoD is facing a £28 billion shortfall between now and 2030.
Sir Richard told Times Radio on Thursday morning that if the DIP is watered down it would mean 'the Government has missed a real opportunity to show strength'. 'You've got to think through what is the impact of this on the minds of the enemy? The principal adversary, Russia. Because they will be thinking... the UK is a soft touch here.'
Political Reactions
Ben Wallace, the former Tory defence secretary, said: 'Intelligence chief after military chief has warned of the threat against the UK, yet Rachel Reeves and No10 fail to fund what is necessary. This is weak leadership in the MoD in a Government that spends most of its time trying to work out how to tax people so they can put up benefits.'
A Government spokesperson said: 'We have taken a new, NATO-first approach and the UK has played a leading role in the alliance since its founding. We are the only European NATO member to commit our nuclear deterrent in full to the alliance. We have always met our NATO spending commitments and remain one of the top defence spenders in the alliance as NATO's third-largest cash spender on defence.'
