STARMER PUSHES BACK ON CRITICISM OVER DEFENCE SPENDING – George Robertson that he was failing to adequately fund defence
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday pushed back against criticism from former NATO chief, George Robertson that he was failing to adequately fund defence, leaving the country unsafe.
Robertson, who helped draft a Strategic Defence Review commissioned by Starmer when Labour returned to power in 2024, later on Tuesday said in a lecture delivered in Salisbury, southern England, that Britain had become vulnerable to external threats.
Asked about Robertson’s comments during Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said he did not agree with them.
Starmer has blamed underinvestment in the military on 14 years of rule by the rival Conservative Party, and has promised the largest sustained rise in defence spending since the Cold War, to reach 3% of national output in the next parliament.
