Britain risks losing status within NATO due to defence spending failures, warns former Royal Navy officer

Britain risks losing influence within NATO because of Labour’s defense spending plans, a former Royal Navy officer has warned.

Admiral Sir Keith Blount has said that on the current trajectory of investment, the UK is in danger of becoming a ‘follower nation’ rather than a leader.

The UK currently provides the headquarters for NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) and leads Europe’s support for Ukraine.

But Sir Keith told The Times the status was at risk due to uncertainty about the UK’s spending commitments.

Germany, Poland, the Baltic and Scandinavian NATO members outperform the UK. Meanwhile, the Labor government is refusing to set out a pathway to meeting NATO spending targets.

These targets include investing 3.5 percent of GDP in basic defense capabilities by 2035.

Britain’s defense spending currently stands at 2.6 percent. According to Labor Party spending forecasts, this will rise to 2.68 per cent over the next four years.

By comparison, Germany expects to reach 3.5 percent by 2030. Poland currently spends over 4 percent.

Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to deliver on defense spending plans despite his impending departure and the resignation of the Defense Secretary and Armed Forces Minister over his government’s lack of investment in the Services.

Ahead of the publication of the Defense Investment Plan (DIP), Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis warned ‘significant savings’ needed

Sir Keith, who has just retired from a senior position in NATO, said: ‘If the other major countries of the alliance outperform us in terms of meeting capability targets and meeting the promise of defense investment, it is only natural that the allies, as a purely rational community of nations, will regard these countries as deserving of greater influence.’

The senior Royal Navy officer added that plans to catch up with Britain’s defense spending were ‘too late’, saying ‘you need to steepen that curve as quickly as possible’.

He said: ‘You can’t charm talent out of nothing. It will be implemented with investment and this investment is needed right now. There is no doubt about it. NATO is very transactional. ‘The more nations enter into alliances, the more they tend to leave.’

Sir Keith has just retired after serving as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and 40 years in uniform.

His warning about Labour’s spending plans came as Downing Street toned down speculation that Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis may have persuaded Sir Keir Starmer to improve the terms of a four-year extra spending package.

In recent days, reports have emerged of ‘positive talks’ between outgoing Prime Minister Jarvis and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

As a result, hopes have been raised that the Ministry of Defense may be offered more than the £13.5bn of extra spending previously on the table.

But in another blow for the Armed Forces, a Downing Street spokesman gave no indication that the revenue figure was being reviewed.

It appears Mr Jarvis, who accepted the post following the resignation of John Healey over defense spending, will need to make savings within his current budget.

Any cuts to talent are fraught with reputational risks, and such reductions would leave Britain more vulnerable to Russian aggression.

Sir Keith was echoing the warning of Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Wednesday, who said the UK was at risk of ‘global irrelevance’ as it fell behind its allies.

He said: ‘If you want to be a global player you need to back up your diplomacy with force. You either pay the price or it disappears. When the going gets tough, you either have ships to send to the Gulf or brigades to deploy to Ukraine, or you don’t.’

Speaking during a visit to Milton Keynes today, Sir Keir defended the government’s spending record and controversial decision to continue publishing the Defense Investment Plan (DIP) and personally attend the NATO summit in Türkiye in July.

Sir Keir rejected claims from allies of his likely successor Andy Burnham that he should have waited for the Makerfield MP to sign the DIP.

He said: ‘Everyone understands that it is important that we spend the money we need to spend on our armed forces. That’s why I intend to publish [the DIP] Before the NATO summit.

‘This is the right time to publish this, as we will come together as NATO countries to share our capabilities and make sure we come out of this summit stronger as a military power.’