MoD: Sir Keir Starmer summons defence chiefs amid squabble over Royal Navy, Army and RAF spending, report says

Sir Keir Starmer will be holding crucial talks imminently over the future shape of the armed forces as he battles with pressures to increase defence spending. As reported in the Financial Times, people close to the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) believe top brass are pushing hard for an expanded military budget due to escalating worldwide tensions.

The financial publication said the Treasury is trying to resist any substantial increases. One source said: “The chiefs want a budget of 2.65 per cent of GDP but the Treasury is adamant that they should work to 2.3 per cent.” Another source said this gap amounts to roughly £10bn a year. According to Nato estimates, the UK spent 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence in 2024.

Allies to the prime minister told The Financial Times the Labour party will not budge from its manifesto commitment to set out a pathway to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, but questions about when this increase will be made have fallen on deaf ears. A meeting between Mr Starmer and military chiefs is expected in the coming days.

The Financial Times reports that sources and Labour officials disagree over if the defence secretary, John Healey, has friction with military officials and whether he is backing their interests, or holding the party line alongside Mr Starmer and the chancellor Rachal Reeves.

This comes as US President Donald Trump calls for European nations and Nato members to spend five per cent of its GDP on defence. Mr Healey faced questions about spending in parliament on Monday (February 10).

When asked by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt if the UK should play a leading role in persuading Nato to stump up funds and keep America as part of the alliance, Mr Healey responded: “I do indeed. It is time for the UK and European allies to step up, to do more of the heavy lifting and that includes increasing defence spending to meet the threats that we face, it includes – as I’ve discussed with the new defence secretary in the US – boosting also our defence industry on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Professor Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director General of the Royal United Services Institute, previously said in a defence select committee meeting that the Ministry of Defence needs more funds to achieve what it’s being asked to do.