Donald Trump's war secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned that Britain's special relationship with the United States is 'meaningless' unless it matches US military capabilities. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth said 'model allies' who comply with US demands will benefit from arms sales and intelligence sharing, while those seen as 'freeloading' will be penalised.
Hegseth, addressing defence ministers including UK's John Healey, stated: 'You can’t just say, “Oh, we’ve been friends for a long time, so let’s work together.” It’s: “We’ve been friends for a long time, so you better have the same capabilities we do, because if we don’t, our alliance is meaningless.”' He vowed to prioritise allies who step up their military capabilities, praising South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
The warning comes amid growing tensions between the UK and US over defence spending. Hegseth earlier told Congress that allies failing to support US military action against Iran was 'unconscionable'. The UK government faces questions over its defence investment plan, with Sir Keir Starmer pledging 3.5% of GDP on 'core defence' by 2035, but a reported £28bn funding gap and delays in publishing the plan.
Former Labour defence secretary Lord George Robertson criticised the government's 'corrosive complacency' on defence spending. The Tories are pushing for an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill requiring the defence investment plan to be laid before Parliament within a month of Royal Assent.
