Starmer says UK will ‘set out a plan’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%
The UK will “set out a plan” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.
Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.
There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA
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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.
They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.
“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”
The defence review will also be published in the spring.
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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.
They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.
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Nigel Farage has said he is willing to help incoming US ambassador Lord Mandelson negotiate with Donald Trump’s administration.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appointed the former New Labour minister earlier this month. He is due to take up his new role in Washington early next year.
In the days after his appointment, one of the managers of Mr Trump‘s presidential election campaign, Chris LaCivita, described him as an “absolute moron”.
In 2019, Lord Mandelson told an Italian newspaper Mr Trump is “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.
But Mr Farage says he is willing to use his connections with Team Trump in the national interest to help foster good US-UK relations – despite his political differences with Sir Keir’s government.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “I am no fan of any of the people in the Labour Party, but if it is in the national interest I have always thought I could be a useful asset if they want to use that – but if they don’t, more fool them.”
Mr Farage speaks at a Trump campaign event in Arizona in 2020. Pic: Reuters
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The Reform UK MP said he could help with talks on trade, tariffs, intelligence-sharing and countering terrorism because “a lot of the members of the president’s cabinet are friends of mine, and many of them long-term friends”.
“I know these people, and in terms of trade, in terms of defence and in terms of intelligence, the US is our most important relationship in the world – forget Brussels,” he said.
Mr Farage first met Mr Trump after the Brexit vote in 2016 – and the pair claim to have been friends ever since.
The Clacton-on-Sea MP was seen at several Republican campaign events in the run-up to the 5 November US election.
But he told the Telegraph he fears the government may be “so split… they might not want to take up my offer”.
On appointing the former New Labour minister, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”
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