Starmer faces likely row at Nato summit after US rebuke on defence spending | Defence policy

Keir Starmer is likely to face a diplomatic row at his last major international summit this week after Washington’s ambassador to NATO called on alliance members “lagging behind” to step up on defense spending.

The Prime Minister will arrive in Ankara on Tuesday for the annual NATO summit, where the UK’s resolve will be examined following the announcement of the government’s defense investment plan (Dip) last week.

While this will create an extra £15 billion for defence, GDP growth will increase slowly, rising from 2.6 per cent in 2027 to 2.7 per cent in 2030, and is targeted to reach 3 per cent in the next parliament.

Under an agreed upon plan At last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, members agreed to reach at least 3.5% of GDP by 2035, as part of a total 5% on defense and “defence and security-related expenditure”.

On Sunday night, US Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said some NATO members were not moving fast enough: “Some allies are doing more than others. Poland, the Nordic countries and the Baltic states are leading the way.”

“But many are falling behind, and President Trump expects all allies to step up immediately and not only get on a sustainable path to 5%, but also get to 5% as quickly as possible.”

Starmer will know that Whitaker and their US colleagues see Britain among the stragglers. There is also uncertainty about what might happen if Andy Burnham takes over as prime minister at the end of this month.

Dan Jarvis, the new defense secretary who took over last month after John Healey resigned over the Dip, called on Burnham at the weekend to dramatically increase defense spending from 2030 and “prove the trajectory” towards the NATO target.

“What I would certainly like to see is that in the next spending review we allocate resources to evidence the trend towards 3.5%,” Jarvis said ahead of the NATO summit in Türkiye.

Jarvis, who wants to remain in charge, has been in contact with Burnham and her team to discuss defensive priorities and the Dip.

“I have known Andy for a very long time and I have no doubt that, as prime minister, he will ensure that we have the resources we need in a time of difficulty,” Jarvis said.

It comes after the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said British F-35 fighter jets were forced to intercept a Russian plane flying near the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier at low altitude in the Norwegian Sea.

The Ministry of Defense statement said the UK ship was “repeatedly approached by a Russian ‘Bear-F’ maritime patrol aircraft”, which dropped sonar devices into the water near the ship.

The statement added: “This activity was unsafe and unprofessional. The Russian aircraft was intercepted and escorted by two British F-35 jets from HMS Prince of Wales until it left the area.”