Sir Keir Starmer’s defence strategy has suffered a significant international setback after the US Ambassador to NATO branded Britain’s approach to military spending “incomplete”, intensifying pressure on the Prime Minister to produce a credible plan to strengthen the Armed Forces.
In unusually direct criticism from one of Britain’s closest allies, Matthew Whitaker said the UK was “not where it needs to be” on defence capability and urged the Government to “do its homework” by setting out a long-term strategy to increase military spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035.
The intervention is likely to fuel fresh concerns over Labour’s defence policy after ministers failed to provide a timetable for increasing spending to three per cent of GDP, a target many defence analysts regard as the minimum needed to respond to an increasingly volatile global security environment.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Whitaker said: “Incomplete is the grade I would give them right now – because I think there is great capacity in the UK to spend more on defence, to become more capable.
“And where Britain’s history has always been to have a strong and capable and ready defence apparatus, obviously, that’s not where we are today.”
His comments represent one of the clearest public signals yet that Washington expects the UK to move more quickly in rebuilding its military capabilities following years of shrinking force levels and mounting geopolitical threats.
The criticism comes after Labour unveiled its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan but stopped short of explaining how or when defence spending would reach three per cent of GDP.
The Government has also acknowledged that it has yet to identify the savings or additional revenue required to finance an estimated £15 billion annual increase in defence expenditure.
Mr Whitaker suggested that Britain ultimately faces a straightforward economic and political choice.
“The equation is quite simple,” he said. You can either grow your economy, which will create more room to spend money on defence, or you are going to have to make the difficult political choices.
His remarks echo growing concern across NATO that European allies must accelerate investment in military capability as Russia continues its war against Ukraine and security threats across the alliance intensify.
While Mr Whitaker reaffirmed that Britain remains a “serious ally”, he made clear that Washington expects detailed plans rather than broad commitments.
We’re expecting them to do the things they need to do, long term to do their homework and to come up with a credible plan that by 2035 will get them to the five per cent,” he said.
“The UK is a serious ally. We want them to be more capable and more ready… But as of today, we’re not quite there.”
The comments are likely to resonate in defence circles after NATO members agreed at last month’s summit in The Hague to work towards spending equivalent to five per cent of GDP on defence and wider security-related investment over the coming decade.
The intervention has handed fresh ammunition to Labour’s political opponents.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge argued the Government’s defence strategy had “completely unravelled”, claiming Britain’s allies were now openly questioning Labour’s credibility on national security.
He accused ministers of failing to explain how additional military investment would be funded, arguing that difficult fiscal decisions had been repeatedly postponed.
The criticism also lands at a politically sensitive moment, with Andy Burnham widely expected to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader later this month. Whoever takes charge will inherit mounting pressure to reassure both financial markets and Britain’s allies that the Government can finance higher defence spending without undermining its broader fiscal commitments.
The dispute highlights the increasingly difficult balancing act facing the Government.
Ministers have pledged to maintain strict fiscal discipline while simultaneously increasing investment in defence, infrastructure and public services.
For investors and defence planners alike, the central question is no longer whether Britain intends to spend more on its military, but whether it can present a credible, fully funded timetable for doing so.
Mr Whitaker’s intervention suggests that, in Washington’s view, those answers remain incomplete—a message likely to sharpen scrutiny of Labour’s defence strategy in the months ahead as NATO allies push for faster progress on military readiness.
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