UK Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis Attends NATO Meeting Without Long-Term Investment Plan
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis attended meetings with his NATO counterparts in Brussels today, notably without the UK's long-term military spending plan in place. NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte has pressed alliance members to present "clear, concrete and credible plans" for defence expenditure ahead of a summit on 7 July.
Jarvis arrived in the Belgian capital with the UK's long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP) still unpublished. This follows warnings from defence chiefs regarding the imperative for increased funding.
Internal Disagreement Over Defence Funding
John Healey, Jarvis's predecessor, resigned last week, asserting that the proposed DIP "falls well short" of what is required for national security. While the UK government has pledged to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, Healey stated the plan presented to him only showed "a rise at 0.08% from next year to 2030", with "no date for reaching 3%, no path to 3.5%". He criticised the plan for being "backloaded" when the immediate need was to "speed up readiness to fight in the first two years."
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the Defence Staff, echoed these concerns, cautioning that the armed forces would be compelled to "dial back" training and operations without additional funding beyond current offers.
Discussions persist within government regarding defence spending. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer indicated Jarvis would develop his "own thoughts now on what the priorities should be," though Downing Street has not suggested extra funds will be allocated. Reports indicate a potential £13.5bn funding increase for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over four years, significantly less than the MoD's requested £28bn.
Jarvis avoided mentioning the DIP when addressing reporters before the NATO defence ministers' meeting. He acknowledged the "incredibly challenging" international security landscape, particularly in supporting Ukraine against Russia's "barbaric invasion."
Rupert Pearce, UK national armaments director at the MoD, described the DIP's delay as "regrettable" on Wednesday. He warned that diverting funds from sectors like energy or transport to defence could impede economic growth, an outcome that "could come back to haunt us in defence" given the defence budget's reliance on national income as a percentage.
On the eve of the defence ministers' meeting, Rutte reiterated his expectation for alliance members to detail how they will increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, which includes a 3.5% core defence commitment and a 1.5% commitment to wider resilience spending. The UK government aims to publish its DIP before next month's summit.
