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Britain ‘needs to go faster’ on defence spending, Starmer says
PoliticsBusiness•February 16, 2026 at 2:06 PMNational

Britain ‘needs to go faster’ on defence spending, Starmer says

By Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor•The Guardian - UK News

PM says ‘we need to step up’ but sources clarify that is unlikely to mean spending 3% of GDP before next electionKeir Starmer has said Britain “needs to go faster” on defence spending, though any increase to military budgets in this parliament would probably not be as high as the £15bn suggested in an overnight report.At a press conference in south-west London, the prime minister was asked to comment on a BBC report that No 10 wanted to increase the defence budget to 3% of GDP by 2029. Continue reading...

PM says ‘we need to step up’ but sources clarify that is unlikely to mean spending 3% of GDP before next election

Keir Starmer has said Britain “needs to go faster” on defence spending, though any increase to military budgets in this parliament would probably not be as high as the £15bn suggested in an overnight report.

At a press conference in south-west London, the prime minister was asked to comment on a BBC report that No 10 wanted to increase the defence budget to 3% of GDP by 2029.

Continue reading...