The Express is asking for its readers views as a former NATO chief is set to warn in a speech: ‘We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack.’
Sir Keir Starmer meeting UK military personnel in Cyprus (Image: Getty)
The Government’s approach to defence has been torn to shreds by a former NATO chief in a scathing broadside. In a chilling warning, Lord George Robertson said the UK is underprepared for war due to the “ever-expanding welfare budget” and “corrosive complacency” from Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.
The former Labour defence secretary, who led the Government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), accused ministers of being unwilling to make the necessary investment. Sir Keir has faced repeated calls to significantly invest more into defence amid skyrocketing tensions, fears about the threat from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and concerns over the state of Britain’s military. So what do you think? Should the PM be spending more on national security? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comments section.
However, experts and insiders have repeatedly warned this gradual increase is too slow.
Rising tensions, concerns over the state of Britain’s military and an increasingly strained relationship with the Trump administration has all led to calls for immediate greater investment.
Former NATO secretary general Lord George Robertson (Image: Getty)
Lord Robertson, who was NATO secretary general between 1999 and 2003, is set to use a lecture on Tuesday evening to say the Iran war must be a “rude wake-up call” to ministers to act.
In the speech, he will say: “We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe… Britain’s national security and safety is in peril.”
The 10-year defence investment plan which was meant to be published in autumn last year to deliver the SDR’s plans has still not been produced.
Lord Robertson told the Financial Times there was a gap between the Prime Minister’s rhetoric on defence and the action he had delivered, saying Sir Keir was “not willing to make the necessary investment”.
A Government spokesman said: “We are delivering on the Strategic Defence Review to meet the threats we face.
“It is backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with a total of over £270 billion being invested across this Parliament.
“We are finalising our defence investment plan that we will publish as soon as possible, putting the best kit and technology into the hands of our forces, rebuilding British industry to make defence an engine for growth and doubling down on our own commitment to NATO.”