Labour’s own MPs have warned Sir Keir Starmer that a failure to boost military spending could put the “special relationship” with the US at risk.
Starmer is expected to delay bringing defence spending up to 2.5 per cent of GDP until after 2030, The Times revealed – a cut below President Donald Trump’s expectations.
Prior to his return to the White House last week, Trump was understood to be approaching Nato allies with a “demand five per cent, accept three per cent” line on military expenditure as part of the alliance.
Labour quartet Luke Akehurst, Dan Carden, Tan Dhesi and Luke Pollard have all made public statements calling for a spending boost, with defence committee chairman Dhesi warning: “The cost of fighting a war… is significantly higher than providing a credible deterrence force.”
While Liverpool Walton MP Carden said: “The simple reality is to build strong alliances, we must maintain and build our autonomy. To maintain a good relationship with the US, we will have to spend more on defence.”
Five former Tory Defence Secretaries – Grant Shapps, Sir Ben Wallace, Penny Mordaunt, Sir Gavin Williamson and Sir Michael Fallon – have turned up the heat on Labour too.
Shapps told The Sun: “This decision is a green light to adversaries and a slap in the face to our armed forces,” while Mordaunt added: “The default setting of the Starmer Government is to pivot away from the US.
“All things are possible if there’s the political will to do it,” she said.
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Our top story from last night: Two-tier policing fears branded ‘an extremist narrative’ – fury as leaked doc exposes Home Office distain for public’s concerns
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper PA
Britons who hold fears about two-tier policing peddle an “extremist narrative”, a leaked Home Office document shared with GB News has claimed.
The People’s Channel was sent a copy of the Home Office’s Rapid Analytical Sprint by the think tank Policy Exchange.
The document, which is looking to determine the UK’s future counter-extremism policy, directly addresses concerns about two-tier policing.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick have been among the most promiment politicians calling for an end to so-called two-tier policing, particularly when it comes to the grooming gangs scandal and the handling of pro-Palestine protesters.
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