Former Nato secretary general Lord George Robertson has accused the government of holding back defence investment, putting Britain 'in peril.' In his first public criticism of the Labour government, Lord Robertson said the country is 'underprepared' and 'not safe' from attack.
Speaking to the Financial Times, the former Labour defence secretary highlighted a gap between the Prime Minister's words and actions on defence. He is expected to warn in a speech today that the Iran war 'has to be a rude wake-up call', and will say there is a 'corrosive complacency' in Britain's political leadership.
Lord Robertson authored the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which aims to increase military spending to 3% of GDP before 2030. However, investment in the review has been postponed, and the military faces a £28 billion funding black hole over the next four years. Sources say the MoD, Treasury and Downing Street have not agreed on how to proceed with defence funding.
Another senior official, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, has also raised alarms. He suggested updating the UK's war book, used during the Cold War and First World War, to improve public resilience, similar to Sweden's recently updated war pamphlet in response to Russian threats.
A government spokesperson defended the approach, stating: '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 over £270bn invested across this parliament.'
