Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Comment
Mark Blunden,Nicholas Cecil,Ross Lydall and Rachelle Abbott

PM Starmer at Nato amid defence spending row ...The Standard podcast

Listen here on your chosen podcast platform.

As Sir Keir Starmer jets to Washington for Nato’s 75th anniversary, his armed forces minister said the government will aim to complete a defence review in less than a year.

It comes amid warnings from former military chiefs that Britain is unprepared for the threat of war.

Minister Luke Pollard said the new government would work “at pace” to finish the assessment - which the prime minister said must happen before decisions are made on raising defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

It is currently 2.3 per cent and follows broad Conservative cuts to the UK armed forces since 2010.

Now, the prime minister is in Washington to meet US President Joe Biden and other Nato leaders at a summit to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary.

Evening Standard political editor Nicholas Cecil has the latest.

In part two, we’ll examine new tolls set to be levied at two Thames crossings, Blackwall Tunnel and the under-construction Silvertown Tunnel - which Transport for London has confirmed will be up to £4 each way.

Analysis from City Hall with Evening Standard transport editor Ross Lydall.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.