The former head of the British Army General Lord Richard Dannatt has warned that Sir Keir Starmer will go in the “bin of history” if he and the Chancellor fail to boost defence spending by at least 3 to 3.5%, the Guardian reports.
Lod Dannatt said the upcoming defence review is risking being hollowed out further which will be a “failure” for the Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves.
Starmer is putting the brakes on with spending for defence as he is determined to keep to Labour’s election manifesto for 2.5%, which does not go far enough.
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Speaking to The Week in Westminster on BBC Radio 4, Lord Dannatt said, “Unless Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves can look at themselves in the mirror and look at their priorities and say, yes, health, education, roads, infrastructure are important, but actually defence and the security of this nation are more important, and find ways of producing more money well beyond 2.5% towards 3 or 3.5% for starters on our defence budget, then this strategic defence review is going to be hollow, it’s going to be a failure.
“And, frankly, it’ll consign Keir Starmer to the bin of history.”
The US President Donald Trump is strongly urging NATO members to up their defence budgets to 5% GDP.
Starmer has suggested to send British troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers, however Lord Dannatt has said this will “probably require about 100,000 people,” the British Armed Forces does not have this amount to give.
Dannatt told the programme, “It would probably require about 100,000 people. The UK would have to supply quite a proportion of that. And we really couldn’t do it.
“Our military is so run down at the present moment, numerically and as far as capability and equipment is concerned, it would potentially be quite embarrassing.”
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