Former NATO Secretary-General accuses Starmer of indifference towards defence
This is according to the Financial Times.
Lord George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General and author of the government’s Strategic Defence Review, stated that British leaders have shown “devastating indifference” to defence issues, thereby jeopardising the country’s security.
According to him, there is a disconnect between Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statements and actual actions in the defence sector. Robertson believes the government is failing to make the necessary investments in British defence.
The article states that in a speech Robertson is due to deliver on Tuesday, the war in Iran is described as a “sharp wake-up call” for Britain. He also criticises the priorities of public spending and believes the country is spending too much on social policy rather than on defence.
The Financial Times reports that the funding shortfall for current defence plans over the coming years is estimated at around £28 billion. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence, the Treasury and Downing Street have been unable to agree on a 10-year Defence Investment Plan for several months, which they had previously planned to publish this autumn.
Against this backdrop, Robertson, as the publication notes, may call on Britain to cut spending in other areas in order to increase defence funding.
Among his grievances is London’s response to events surrounding Iran. The article states that Robertson criticised Britain for failing to deploy more than one warship in the Mediterranean at the start of the war. In his view, the problem concerns not only a lack of equipment, but also logistics, engineering, cyber security, ammunition, training and medical resources.
The article also mentions that Britain has refused to support the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Keir Starmer stated that London would not take part in such an operation, and that British efforts are focused on restoring freedom of navigation.
It was also previously reported that Britain is preparing a large-scale plan to put the country on a war footing, which will concern, in particular, critical infrastructure and the armed forces.
As reported by ThePublic, the European Union expects to return swiftly to the issue of €90 billion in aid for Ukraine following Viktor Orbán’s defeat in the Hungarian elections. Berlin has already stated that it hopes for a “very swift” unblocking of the package, which Budapest had previously blocked due to a dispute over the oil pipeline.
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