Reeves warns Burnham against borrowing to fill UK defence budget black hole

Starmer announces UK defence budget increase

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer outlined spending plans to try and make the UK armed forces battle ready.

Keir Starmer does not want to risk arriving empty-handed at the upcoming NATO summit on July 7 and 8 in Ankara, where he will face a combative Donald Trump demanding greater defense commitments from European countries.

Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week announced an extra £15 billion ($19.9 billion) in defense spending over the next four years as part of the U.K.'s Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which will lift annual spending to £79.1 billion by 2029, or 2.7%% of GDP.