Keir Starmer to make 5% defence spending pledge at NATO summit

Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to spend 5% of national income on defence by 2035. The Prime Minister is set to make the announcement as he attends the Nato summit in The Hague, where the issue is top of the agenda.

Members of the military alliance are expected to agree to a target of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the two-day meeting in the Netherlands amid pressure from US President Donald Trump. Sir Keir said: "We must navigate this era of radical uncertainty with agility, speed and a clear-eyed sense of the national interest to deliver security for working people and keep them safe.

"That's why I have made the commitment to spend 5% of GDP on national security. This is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to NATO and drive greater investment in the nation's wider security and resilience.

"After all, economic security is national security, and through this strategy we will bring the whole of society with us, creating jobs, growth and wages for working people - guided by my Plan for Change."

The 5% commitment - more than double Nato members' current target of 2% - is to be split with 3.5% on defence and 1.5% on related areas such as infrastructure.

But the Tories said the 5% boost was "both unfunded and a decade away".

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said: "We welcome NATO allies spending more on defence given the threats we face. In Government, we always met the NATO benchmark. But this increase is both unfunded and a decade away, when the threat we face is real and imminent.

"The Chancellor failed to set out a path to 3% in the spending review, and this is another announcement without a plan.

"Instead of using smoke and mirrors to inflate defence spending, Labour must get to 3% this parliament and back our country's defence with a fully funded plan to get there."

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice added: "Increased defence spending is always welcome, but this is a hollow and unfunded promise made by a government more interested in securing headlines than delivering.

"This is simply more back of the fag packet maths announced shortly after a spending review that committed the UK to £120 billion of additional borrowing.

"Keir Starmer is already attempting to fudge the numbers. The Chagos deal, broadband and bridge repairs are reportedly being paid for out of the defence budget.

"Even if they did have a funded plan to achieve this spending, it likely won't make our country safer. In the hands of Labour, it will actually make us weaker.

"5% of spending by 2035 is too little, too late. At the last election, Reform UK was the only party that committed to 3% of defence spending by the end of this parliament, paid for by vast savings in grotesquely wasteful public sector and government spending."

Sir Keir in February pledged to hit 2.5% of GDP on defence from April 2027 with an ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament.

The 5% commitment comes as the Government will on Tuesday publish its National Security Strategy.

The report calls for a whole of society approach to strengthen national security and brings together all the security work that has taken place since last July's general election.

It comes amid soaring global tensions with Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and the Israel-Iran conflict.

Tensions further escalated over the weekend after the US joined Israel by launching strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Downing Street on Monday insisted the Government is focusing on a diplomatic solution as Tel Aviv and Tehran continued to exchange fire.

A Number 10 spokesman said: "We're clear that the prevention of Iran getting nuclear weapons is a good thing for this country.

"But our focus is on diplomacy. That is the priority and that is what every member of this Government is working towards and that's been the focus of the calls with international partners over the weekend."

But the spokesman declined to comment on whether US strikes on the country were legal after Foreign Secretary David Lammy also refused to do so in an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused ministers of having no "moral courage" over the Israel-Iran war.

Speaking at a Policy Exchange think tank event in central London, she said: "With regards to the Government, I think there is a complete absence of moral clarity and, in fact, moral courage.

"They are repeating the sort of standard lines that are written by officials, which are designed to not upset anybody and not give any views or any information: 'we want to see a de-escalation', just sort of 'motherhood and apple pie'.

"I do think it is quite extraordinary the position they found themselves in where the Foreign Secretary is unable to say whether or not he believes that the action was lawful.

"It's a completely preposterous situation, because if there's a counter-attack from Iran, they will probably come out and say that it is lawful. They clearly don't think it's lawful, because if they did, they would have come out and said so."

The Foreign Secretary urged Iran to return to the negotiating table in a Commons statement.

Mr Lammy told MPs: "My message for Tehran was clear, take the off ramp, dial this thing down, and negotiate with the United States seriously and immediately.

"The alternative is an even more destructive and far-reaching conflict, which could have unpredictable consequences."

It came as Israel launched more strikes on Tehran on Monday including on the notorious Evin Prison, which holds Iran's political prisoners, and the security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said on social media platform X that Tel Aviv was "carrying out strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government repression in the heart of Tehran".

The Israeli military warned Iranians it would continue to attack military sites around the capital over "the coming days".

It said: "Dear citizens of Tehran, in the coming days, the Israeli army will continue its attacks against military targets in the Tehran region.

"To maintain your personal safety, we ask you to stay away from weapons production centres, military bases and security institutions affiliated with the regime."

Meanwhile, Iran fired more missiles at Israel and accused the US of crossing "a very big red line".

Oil prices jumped to their highest level for nearly six months amid fears Iran could block the strategically important Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.