Donald Trump expects Britain and other Nato allies to adhere to their defence spending pledges, the White House has stated, amid ongoing controversy surrounding the UK’s future military funding.
The US president’s demand comes as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to unveil a long-delayed investment plan for the armed forces, a strategy that has been plagued by internal government wrangling and marked by ministerial resignations.
While the outgoing Prime Minister insists the plan will keep Britain “safe and secure long into the future”, John Healey, who recently quit as defence secretary, warned the proposed military financial settlement “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.
The row erupted ahead of a crucial Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey next week, where members are expected to set out a “credible path” to spending 5 per cent of economic output on defence by 2035.
This is split into a 3.5 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) core defence spending commitment, and a 1.5 per cent GDP commitment to wider resilience spending.
However, in his resignation letter Mr Healey suggested the UK was on course to spend only 2.68 per cent of GDP on core defence by 2030, casting doubt on the country’s ability to meet the target of 3.5 per cent within the required timescale.
A White House official said: “President Trump expects Nato allies to abide by their 5% defence spending pledge.”
The new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis is understood to have secured some extra money for the military, taking the total allocation to some £14.5 billion – up from the £13.5 billion offered to Mr Healey but short of the £28 billion officials previously said was needed.
The funding dispute comes at a critical time, with Mr Trump casting doubt on the commitment of the US to Nato that he has branded “a paper tiger”.
The US president argues America has been bankrolling the defence of other countries with tensions further fuelled over his designs on Greenland, which belongs to fellow alliance member Denmark, and the response of allies, including the UK, to the Iran war.
Earlier this month, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of American military forces in Europe as he cast doubt on some members meeting their spending commitments, arguing they still seem “to think the era of free-riding is here”.
Under Mr Jarvis’s “refocused” defence investment plan (Dip), the UK’s use of drones and autonomous weapons will be ramped up, funded by a £5 billion cash injection, in response to lessons from the Ukraine and Iran conflicts.
Reflecting this shift, plans for a new fleet of next-generation destroyers have been ditched, to be replaced instead by “hybrid” vessels which will act as command hubs for drones.
