Political comment: Havant MP Alan Mak criticises Labour Government for refusing to commit to defence spending increase

Havant MP Alan Mak has criticised the Labour Government for failing to commit to a defence spending increase to 2.5 per cent of national income.

Before the General Election, the Conservatives in government promised billions more for defence because the UK is facing an "axis of authoritarian states" including Russia, Iran and North Korea.

But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has refused to match the Conservatives' pledge that military spending would go up to 2.5% of national income by 2030.

The Labour Government has refused to set out a timetable for getting to that 2.5% figure and has instead launched a defence review that is not expected to be completed for another year.

Mr Mak said: "The first duty of any Government is keeping people safe and the country secure. We are living in an increasingly unstable world and we need to invest in our armed forces to ensure the nation is adequately protected.

"So it is very disappointing to see that the new Labour Government will not make any firm commitment on defence spending and when it will hit 2.5% of national income.

"Threats to our safety and security are very real now and those who would seek to do us harm are not going to wait around for the results of a defence review."