Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of living in “fantasy land” if he believes he can put troops on the ground in Ukraine without significantly increasing defence spending.
After the prime minister confirmed he would be willing to put UK armed forces in harm’s way to defend the country, the former head of the army said the pledge “is going to come at a cost” and the PM’s current commitment, to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, “is not going to touch the sides”.
“We’ve got to go to 3 or 3.5 per cent and commit to that now, so defence planners can start spending the money in a sensible fashion and do what needs to be done,” Lord Dannatt, who was chief of the general staff between 2006 and 2009, told BBC Breakfast.
Lord Dannatt added: “He’s got to get real… he can't live in fantasy land.”
He was joined by former defence secretary Ben Wallace, who said Sir Keir must recognise that the future of Nato depends on Britain spending at least 3 per cent of GDP by 2030. “It is vital for our OWN security,” he said on X.
He added: “The extra spending is also vital to ensure any forces we may or may not send to Ukraine are properly protected and enabled. Not to do so is to send another hollow force and put British lives unnecessarily at risk.”
But Colonel Tim Collins, a former army officer who gave a stirring eve-of-battle speech at the start of the Iraq War, told The Independent it “may already be too late” to increase defence spending enough to combat the threat posed by hostile actors.
Asked about claims increasing defence spending to 2.5 won’t touch the sides, he said: “We need to see what they say in the Nato summit but it may already be too late. We would need to spend a significant amount of money. But I don't think that the nation has the appetite or will to defend itself anymore. No one's joining the army, and lots of people are leaving.”
And economists warned funding increases in defence spending poses huge political challenges for the government, potentially requiring tax hikes or spending cuts elsewhere.
IFS associate director Ben Zaranko said any major uplift in defence spending would be impossible while sticking to Labour’s manifesto pledges on tax.
He said: “If there is a structural need to permanently spend more on defence, that is not the sort of thing that can sustainably be met through higher borrowing. It would require spending cuts elsewhere, tax rises, or some combination of the two.”
Responding to Mr Trump’s calls for European countries to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence, he said Sir Keir and Ms Reeves would need to find £80 billion of extra funding - double the amount raised through tax hikes in October’s Budget.
“If defence spending does need to rise significantly, it's difficult to overstate the seriousness of the fiscal challenge this would pose to the government,” Mr Zaranko warned.
He added: “Meeting the pressures of an ageing population on the NHS while simultaneously ramping up defence expenditure, in an era of stagnant growth and elevated interest rates, would be an epochal challenge – and certainly not one that could be met while sticking to the letter of Labour’s manifesto promises.”
The former head of the Royal Navy told The Independent 2.5 per cent spending would be an improvement, but that Britain should realistically be spending almost double that.
Lord West of Spithead said successive governments have “betrayed the British people about defence spending” and have “lied about the capabilities of our military and have been reducing spending”.
As a result, Lord West said Britain’s armed forces have been “hollowed out” and need a major boost “just to fill the gaps caused by sending equipment to Ukraine” and other shortfalls.
He said: “I would say we need 4 per cent.
“Thatcher at her maximum was spending seven. During the Cold War, generally, we spent about five most of the time.
“Way back in 1937 we spent 3 per cent then there was Munich, and we bumped it up to nine, and by 1940 was 49 per cent that's what happens when you get it wrong. So we absolutely need to spend more. I have no doubt whatsoever. And I think we're being very silly as a nation not doing that."
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the prime minister said over the weekend the UK was “ready to play a leading role” in Ukraine’s defence and security, including the commitment of £3 billion a year until 2030.
But he said that along with military aid to Ukraine “it also means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.
“I do not say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way,” Sir Keir said.
“But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country… the end of this war, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again.”
Asked about the commitment, Lord Dannatt said: “My reaction is the Prime Minister is doing the right thing. But, of course, doing the right thing comes at a price.
“If the prime minister is serious about wanting to deploy British troops, put boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force, he’s got to realise that’s going to come at a considerable cost.
“Frankly, we haven’t got the numbers and we haven’t got the equipment to put a large force onto the ground for an extended period of time at the present moment.
“Now, if Keir Starmer wants to do that, that’s fine. The British Army will always stand up to the plate, but here we go again. We’ve got to have the right number of people with the right equipment and the right training, and start to fund that now.”
Asked whether Labour would boost spending to the levels called for by Lord Dannatt, health secretary Wes Streeting reaffirmed Labour’s manifesto commitment to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP. Currently Britain defence spending is around 2.3 per cent of GDP.
Boosting spending to Labour’s 2.5 per cent target would add around £5 billion to the Ministry of Defence’s budget, and Treasury sources indicated Rachel Reeves is not willing to allocate more than 2.3 per cent in this year’s spending review. But sources told The Times Sir Keir was willing to overrule the chancellor after the PM held one-to-one meetings at the MoD with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, and the respective heads of the army, RAF and Royal Navy.
Armed forces chiefs want Sir Keir to raise defence spending even higher, to 2.65 per cent of GDP, which would cost around £10 billion.
Defence committee chairman Tan Dhesi reiterated his call for the government to set a clear timetable for increased defence spending “as soon as possible”.
He told The Independent: “At this critical troubling time for our continent’s defence and security, given Russia’s imperialist designs, we as a nation must show leadership. That is what our friends and allies are also expecting of us.”
Mr Dhesi added: “Given the potential absence or significant reduction of American presence, this is our time as a nation to step up to the plate and take leadership on defence for the European continent.”
And defence committee member Calvin Bailey, who served in the RAF for 24 years, welcomed the UK taking a leadership role in Ukraine, adding that there has been “a huge vacuum”.
He said a trip by the committee to Estonia had shown a strong desire among allies for the UK to step up and lead in Europe amid political turmoil in France and Germany. But he warned: “Tese bold commitments come with considerable resource implications, which will need to be addressed in the strategic defence and security review. We must not underestimate the scale of the task ahead of us.”
Tensions over defence spending come as the PM prepares to offer himself as a bridge between Europe and the US in a bid to ensure Ukraine is not frozen out of peace talks with Vladimir Putin over the war.
The prime minister will try to convince Donald Trump to uphold security guarantees for Kyiv and ensure Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a role in discussions to end the fighting.
Sir Keir said on Sunday: “The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”
The PM is travelling on Monday to a European crisis summit called by French president Emmanuel Macron to face down the threat of Russia, after Mr Zelenskyy called for an “army of Europe” as it could not rely on the US for defence. And he will travel to Washington next week where he will relay the outcome of the meeting to Mr Trump and seek to keep the US president onside.
But Sir Keir will also warn European counterparts to take seriously Mr Trump’s demands for higher defence spending and make concrete commitments by a Nato summit in June, The Times reported.
The PM added: “This is a once-in-a-generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.
“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in Nato as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine’s future and face down the threat we face from Russia.”
