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Criticism of Keir Starmer’s defence spending plans are “unfair”, the security minister, Dan Jarvis, has said as he defended the UK government’s strategic defence review, reports the PA news agency.
The major assessment will be launched next week and will set out a road map to spending 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. Jarvis on Thursday described the commitment to 2.5% as “absolutely cast iron”, but no date has been put on when spending will rise to this level.
I think that would be unfair, Nick, if you don’t mind me saying.
The prime minister has made a cast-iron guarantee that we will get to the point where we are spending 2.5% of GDP on our defence capabilities, but we think that these things should be done properly.”
Our commitment to 2.5% of GDP is absolutely cast iron, and we will get to the point as quickly as we possibly can, but it needs to be informed by the process of review that will be initiated very shortly.”
It’s important that we follow the process and look carefully at the nature of the threat that our country faces, and the resources that will be required to put in place an armed forces that is fit for purpose … it’s an important process that will take a period of months.”
This morning, the security minister was forced to defend Keir Starmer for calling on Nato members to increase defence spending when the Labour Government have not set a date to reach 2.5% of defence spending by.
In a world that is more volatile and dangerous than at any time since the cold war, Keir Starmer’s Labour government had a clear choice to match the Conservatives’ fully funded pledge to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030. By failing to do so, they’ve created huge uncertainty for our armed forces, at the worst possible time.”