Britain will double its defence spending over the next decade and is catching up with Germany’s military investment, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has said, as the Government prepares to accelerate its rearmament programme.
Speaking aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Oslo, Mr Rutte praised commitments announced in the recent Budget, which set Britain on course to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030, rising towards Nato’s new core target of 3.5 per cent by 2035.
Introduced by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting at the Atlantic Future Forum, the Nato chief said the funding plans represented a significant shift in Britain’s military ambitions.
“It also means that the United Kingdom will double its defence spending in 10 years. This is an incredible number,” he said.
Mr Rutte compared Britain’s planned expansion with Germany’s, which has committed to doubling its defence spending over eight years.
“I always said where Germany is doubling its defence spending in eight years, that they will spend more than the French and the Brits combined. That’s not any longer true, because now the UK is really catching up,” he said.
He added that the increased investment would help develop the “warfighting capabilities” Nato needed to protect its members.
The remarks offer a significant endorsement of the Government’s spending plans, which represent a more ambitious timetable than Britain’s previous commitment to reach 3 per cent of GDP in the next Parliament.
Mr Streeting told delegates that the UK was already delivering its biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War. He also pointed to the Chancellor’s Budget statement that further increases would be considered at next year’s spending review.
But the Defence Secretary stressed that higher budgets alone would not guarantee military strength, arguing that investment needed to translate into equipment, readiness and operational capability.
“But it’s not just about spending more. It is about spending more wisely,” he said.
“Investment is a statement of our commitment, but capability is the demonstration of our credibility.”
Mr Streeting also praised former Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg’s move into Norwegian government as finance minister, joking that ministers with defence experience were well suited to overseeing public finances.
“I’m all in favour, by the way, of people with extensive experience in defence becoming finance ministers,” he said. “We’ve got a great one in John Healey in the UK, and it’s doing rather well for the Ministry of Defence.”
The reference was to Mr Healey’s departure from the Defence Secretary role following a funding dispute before his move to the Treasury.
Mr Rutte said five Nato allies were projected to reach or exceed the alliance’s broader 5 per cent spending commitment in 2026. The target includes 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence and a further 1.5 per cent on wider security-related investment.
The Government’s spending plans mark a major commitment to rebuilding Britain’s military capacity amid growing concern over the security threat posed by Russia and the need for European allies to shoulder more responsibility for their own defence.
However, the challenge will be ensuring that the promised funding delivers tangible improvements in military capability, rather than simply higher spending totals.
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