The UK should be spending 3 per cent of GDP or more on defence, a former head of MI6 has said as Sir Keir Starmer faced pressure over his plans for the armed forces.
Sir Richard Dearlove said neither of the main political parties during the general election campaign had “described to the voters the seriousness of the situation that we face at the moment” amid rising global instability.
He told Times Radio: “In my view, actually our defence expenditure should be around 3 per cent, maybe even a bit higher. The Poles are already spending 3.9 per cent and gonna go even higher. There is an urgency. This is a major problem.
“It’s more important, and you know, people won’t accept this from me, it’s more important than the National Health Service, I’m sorry.”
Sir Richard made the comments as Sir Keir attended a Nato summit in Washington DC today in his first international trip as Prime Minister.
Labour has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP but has not set a deadline. Sir Keir has refused to guarantee hitting the number in his first term in office.
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2024-07-10 09:56:00Z
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