A defence minister has declined to confirm whether Britain will meet a challenge from Nato chief Mark Rutte to present a credible plan for increasing military spending before the alliance's upcoming summit.
Nato Secretary-General's Challenge
Mark Rutte on Wednesday called on Nato allies to present clear, concrete and credible plans for raising defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, ahead of this year's summit in Ankara, Turkey, beginning on July 7. The commitment is split into a 3.5% GDP core defence spending target and a 1.5% GDP commitment for wider resilience spending.
UK Defence Minister's Response
Defence minister Louise Sandher-Jones would not be drawn into saying whether the UK planned to present such a plan to Mr Rutte in the weeks before the gathering. However, she told reporters that Britain would demonstrate its strong commitment to defence by highlighting the government's biggest increase in defence spending in a very long time.
Mr Rutte's challenge comes just a week after John Healey resigned as defence secretary over a dispute concerning the defence investment plan (Dip). Mr Healey stated that the Dip would only provide £13.5 billion in extra investment for defence, far short of the £28 billion over four years that defence officials deemed necessary to transform the UK's armed forces. His resignation letter also suggested that the UK was on course to spend only 2.68% of GDP on defence by 2030 under the Dip.
UK's Defence Spending Record
When asked by broadcasters when Nato would receive the UK's plan for a 3.5% commitment, Ms Sandher-Jones said: I would just say that we're going to be walking into there and we're going to be able to point to the record of what we've already done. It's not just about talking the talk, it's walking the walk. We've had the biggest increase in defence spending in a very long time. That's over £270 billion supporting all kinds of activity, whether it's our at-sea nuclear deterrent or training activity. That is a really, really strong commitment that we're going to be taking in to show today about what we have done and delivered.
Earlier, when asked why she could not provide a timeline for Britain's commitment to raise defence spending, Ms Sandher-Jones replied: With respect, there's this process that's going on at the moment around the Dip to make sure that we meet the threats and meet the capability. Again, with my background, I'm really focused on the threats and the capability that what we're talking about is what we need. As we're going forwards, the Dip is a moment, and it's really important that we get it right, and I know that everybody's working hard to do that.
She also declined to say whether she would resign if more cash for defence was not forthcoming, telling journalists her focus was to make sure that we deliver for the men and women who are serving our country today.
Nato Chief's Remarks
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Rutte issued a challenge to all Nato member states. He said: Ahead of the summit in Ankara, allies will highlight how they're delivering on commitments made in The Hague last year. Investing 5% of GDP in defence by 2035. That's what we agreed. So, I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that goal. Ideally, well ahead of the agreed timeline. And many are already showing that they are doing exactly that.
MoD Official's Warning
Elsewhere, a senior Ministry of Defence official warned peers that cuts to Whitehall departments to fund the delayed defence investment plan would be a zero sum game, which was a very difficult decision to make politically. Rupert Pearce, UK national armaments director, also told peers that the delay in publishing the Dip was regrettable, but added that reducing spending in areas such as energy or transport investment could come back to haunt us in defence.
New Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis has vowed to get the armed forces the funding they need after his predecessor quit over the issue. Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out tax hikes to fund defence spending. The Dip is due to be published before the Nato summit in Turkey but was originally slated for publication last autumn and has been repeatedly delayed.
