PM facing Nato rebuke from Trump at summit
Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to face down a rebuke from President Trump over defence spending as he attends a Nato summit as one of his final acts in office this week.
The prime minister had intended to travel to the summit in Ankara to sell his defence investment plan (Dip) but instead he will arrive with an unfunded plan and less than two weeks left in office. He will also find himself sidelined as officials and foreign dignitaries begin planning for the anticipated coronation of Andy Burnham as his successor.
A defence source said: “The world leaders won’t embarrass [Starmer], but there will be enormous disappointment that Britain has sunk so low as to be an ‘also-ran’ in Nato. It’s now bumping along at No 12 in terms of defence spending and the worst in terms of meeting the commitments laid upon it by Nato, less Iceland, which doesn’t have armed forces.”
There are concerns in Whitehall that Trump could make an intervention at the summit, overshadowing Starmer’s final foreign trip before he leaves office.
Yesterday Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to Nato, said the president would “lead the alliance” in Turkey as the administration ramped up pressure on countries falling short of their contributions, calculated as a percentage of GDP. He said: “Some allies are doing more than others. Poland, the North countries, the Baltic countries lead the way and Germany is on track for the 5 per cent ... but many allies are lagging behind and President Trump expects all allies to step up immediately.”
Trump reposted a social media post that said, 100 years ago, “England was the greatest empire the world had ever seen”, adding: “A few generations later, they are a de-industrialised welfare zone unable to stop third-world men from invading on rubber boats. Decline happens fast. Weak leaders and suicidal empathy.”
Trump will hold bilateral talks at the summit with President Zelensky of Ukraine and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian president. Talks with Starmer are expected to be part of the main group sessions at the summit.
A senior US official warned of the fate awaiting countries who had failed to set out a path to 5 per cent: “The president is a very clear communicator. He has previewed where he feels our allies are underperforming on a defence commitment and he will deliver that message in person.”
The Dip, which was published last week after months of delay, was widely decried after it emerged there were huge funding gaps in the proposals. A third of the £15 billion increase in defence spending, £4.7 billion, will have to be raised at Burnham’s first budget.
Under the plans, defence spending rises from 2.6 per cent this year to 2.7 per cent in 2028 and remains flat until 2029-30.
In 2015, Britain was Nato’s third largest defence spender, as a share of GDP, after only the US and Greece. By last year it had fallen to 12th, overtaken by the likes of Poland and the Baltic states.
A defence source, who will be at the Nato summit, said: “The world is more dangerous than ever, but the PM hasn’t delivered the legacy on defence he’s craved. The peace dividend is over. His successor must act immediately to get us to 5 per cent of GDP on defence.”
Burnham pledged last week to find billions of pounds in his first budget to close a defence funding gap left by his predecessor.
Allies of Starmer insisted that other leaders would be sympathetic to his position. One said: “Other foreign leaders understand how difficult and turbulent domestic politics is — more so now than ever. They also understand the duties of leadership.”
General Sir Richard Shirreff, the former deputy supreme allied commander of Nato, said: “[Starmer] might get a hard time from Trump as a consequence of a deeply underwhelming defence investment plan, which effectively sabotages Britain’s military capability and does nothing for our reputation in Nato.”
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is also due at the summit, which starts tomorrow. She is expected to publish a 3,300-word essay for the think tank Chatham House today, which will warn that Britain needs to go further on defence spending and AI.
The Tories accused Starmer of being a “lame duck” prime minister at the summit. James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “At a time of growing global threats, Britain should be showing strength alongside our allies. But we’ve got one lame duck prime minister attending Nato and his successor refusing to set out any plans to follow. Labour has failed to take Britain’s defence seriously and the Dip has already completely unravelled.”
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