The Armed Forces will only receive half of the £28billion needed to keep Britain safe under the Defence Investment Plan (DIP).
In one of his final acts as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer will finally reveal the plan on Tuesday and pledge billions of pounds for military equipment, with a £5billion-valued focus on drones and automation.
But its contents is unlikely to cool fears that not enough is being spent on protecting Britain.
Earlier this month, John Healey resigned as Defence Secretary after the Treasury refused to commit the resources needed to defend Britain.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carns then resigned, saying the proposed plan was not “transformative enough” in the face of the growing threat of war.
Mr Healey had secured a £13.5billion settlement in his version of the plan, which he warned came to an increase of just 0.08 per cent of GDP by 2030.
His replacement, Dan Jarvis, is said to have secured some extra funding, up to £14.5billion – still well short of what Mr Healey and officials have asked for.
Insiders, however, claimed to The Sun last night that only £1billion of the total plan was “new money”.
A defence source said the £5billion drone spend formed less than two per cent of the MoD’s budget over the next four years.
“This is hardly a revolution,” they said. “It is utter f*****g waffle. We are still not learning the lessons from Ukraine.”
Defence chiefs had long warned £28billion would be the price of defending the nation – with Sir Keir himself warning of an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030.
The Tories have said the plan – which was meant to be published last autumn – was “too little, too late”.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said it was “too little because it is barely more money than John Healey and Al Carns resigned over when they said Britain would be ‘less safe’, and too late because the plan is now almost a year overdue and only being rushed through because Keir Starmer is desperate for a legacy”.
Mr Cartlidge added: “This plan is not worth the paper it’s written on – Keir Starmer is Prime Minister in name only.
“The next Prime Minister needs to cut welfare and give our Armed Forces the funding they need to keep Britain safe. The problem is, it doesn’t matter who is in charge, all Labour MPs want is more benefits. Labour are now the welfare party.”
He went on to tell The Telegraph: “John Healey resigned because Starmer would only spend 2.68 per cent of GDP by 2030.
“The deal Dan Jarvis is praising today represents only 2.69 per cent of GDP in 2030. This is £9.3billion per annum short of what Healey said was needed to keep Britain safe.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey meanwhile said the plan was “late and underfunded”, which he described as “unforgivable”.
Britain is also set to lag behind Nato allies in meeting defence commitments, with Germany set to spend 3.7 per cent of its GDP by 2030 on defence, and Sweden 3.5 per cent by the same point.
Mr Jarvis has spent his two weeks in the job “refocusing” the DIP in order to get the “latest kit” into the hands of Britain’s armed forces, Downing Street said.
At a press conference today, Sir Keir will finally unveil the plan, and will hail its £5billion drones and autonomous systems focus as he bids farewell to No10.
The drone focus has already hit the Navy – with the MoD announcing it had scrapped plans for a new fleet of destroyer warships for new “hybrid” naval vessels which will act as “command hubs” for drones.
The Army will also invest into first-person-view (FPV) drones, and jet-powered drones designed to take off from Britain’s aircraft carriers.
But some spending commitments, such as improvements to military housing, will be “de-prioritised” to focus on the state-of-the-art equipment.
The Prime Minister is set to attend the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7 – two weeks before the earliest date Andy Burnham could take the reins as Labour leader.
Mr Burnham has left open the possibility of reviewing the DIP when he storms into No10, suggesting he would favour British-based defence firms in future military contracts.
Nato chief Mark Rutte previously said he expects Nato members to lay out “clear, concrete and credible plans” to increase funding in line with the five per cent of GDP commitment required – with 3.5 per cent on core defence spending and 1.5 per cent on wider resilience spending.
The US – whose President has described Nato as a “paper tiger” – also weighed in on the defence plan last night.
The White House said: “President Trump expects Nato allies to abide by their five per cent defence spending pledge.”
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced a review of US military forces in Europe earlier this month, arguing that allies still believe “the era of free-riding is here”.
The Defence Secretary said: “Our Armed Forces are serving at an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable time. We are determined to give them what they need as they serve with courage and exceptional skill to keep us safe.
“The character of warfare is rapidly changing. In Ukraine and the Middle East, uncrewed systems are defining conflicts.
“This largest ever UK investment into these evolving technologies will help our armed forces stay ahead of our adversaries, backed by the best of our defence industry. We are giving our extraordinary people the equipment they need to fight and win.”
