Jarvis 'working round clock' to finalise defence plan

Reuters

New defence secretary Dan Jarvis says he is "working around the clock" to finalise a military investment plan that his predecessor claimed fell well short of what was needed to keep the country safe.

John Healey explosively resigned last week, delaying further the publication of the defence investment plan (DIP), which was originally due last autumn.

Speaking after meeting his Nato counterparts in Brussels, Jarvis responded to questions from the BBC by vowing to ensure the UK's armed forces have the "resources that they need".

But he declined to say whether he was looking to negotiate additional cash beyond the settlement that prompted Healey to resign.

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Healey said last week that draft government proposals would take UK defence spending to 2.68% of GDP by 2030, falling "well short" of the 3% target he considered necessary.

It came amid reports that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was seeking £28bn more in funding between now and the end of the decade, but had only been offered an additional £10bn.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he has asked all government departments to trim their investment budgets to free up additional cash, promising the investment plan will be published in the coming weeks.

Sir Keir said this week that Jarvis has his "own thoughts now on what the priorities should be", although there has been no suggestion from Downing Street that extra cash will be found.

Speaking after his Brussels meeting, Jarvis was asked whether he was looking to negotiate a bigger settlement than Healey, but did not respond directly.

He told reporters: "My priority now is to make sure that our armed forces have the resources that they need to do a very difficult job of work.

"I'm working around the clock with my colleagues across government to make sure that we can get the [investment plan] completed".

'Credible plans'

The UK has also come under international pressure to increase military budgets, having committed to spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, in line with Nato commitments.

Nato General Secretary Mark Rutte has urged the alliance's members to present "clear, concrete and credible plans" for how they will raise defence spending ahead of a summit on 7 July.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also criticised some Nato members that have "yet to show a credible path" to higher defence spending.

On Tuesday, the UK's chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, warned the armed forces will have to "dial back" training and operations if they do not receive more cash than is currently being offered.

The DIP, which was initially expected in autumn 2025, was due to be published last week but has been repeatedly delayed amid the funding talks.

At the Brussels summit, Jarvis said the UK would provide funding to help Ukraine with 150,000 drones and 350 air defence missiles and radars by the end of the year.

The equipment is funded by a £752m tranche of the UK's £2.26bn loan to Ukraine, financed with the profits of seized Russian assets.

Speaking at the opening of Thursday's summit, Hegseth was critical of those Nato countries that he believes are not yet showing how they will meet their spending commitments.

'Two-way street'

He said: "Some of Nato's largest economies, some of our richest countries, allies that are happiest to go on about the rules-based international order and middle powers banding together, still seem to think the era of free-riding is here."

Hegseth also announced a six-month review of America's military footprint in Europe, which "will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading" on the continent's security.

He added: "At the same time, going forward, our annual Nato dues will be contingent on other countries meeting their defence spending targets.

"Where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues contributions will go down. Nato will be a two-way street."

On the eve of the meeting of defence ministers, Rutte made clear his desire for members of the alliance to show how they plan to raise defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035 ahead of the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey.

The commitment is split into a 3.5% GDP core defence spending commitment, and a 1.5% GDP commitment to wider resilience spending.

Rutte said: "Investing 5% of GDP in defence by 2035. That's what we agreed.

"So, I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that goal.

"Ideally, well ahead of the agreed timeline. And many are already showing that they are doing exactly that."

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