See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy MARK NICOL, DEFENCE EDITOR Published: 15:56 BST, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 16:00 BST, 8 June 2026
A year overdue blueprint for UK defence spending is expected to be unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday – subject to sign off by the Treasury.Labour’s failure to publish the Defence Investment Plan has been blamed for damaging national security and the UK’s arms industry, as manufacturers remain unaware as to what they should produce.Key defence figures who were previously supportive of the government have also broken ranks over the DIP, condemning delays as indicative of Labour’s failure to prioritise national security over the expanding welfare state.It has emerged today how preparations are underway for the Prime Minister to finally publish the plan on Thursday, possibly at a factory where defence equipment is manufactured.But the publication of the DIP – and an accompanying announcement of an increase in defence spending of around £15 to £18 billion – must still be approved by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Sir Keir Starmer has promised to publish the Defence Investment Plan before a NATO summit next month. According to defence sources the DIP could finally be unveiled on Thursday.While Sir Keir has committed publicly to publishing the DIP before next month’s NATO summit, Treasury officials may attempt to delay its release until after the Makerfield byelection on 18th June.Victory for Andy Burnham would effectively trigger a Labour leadership race, which could lead to the DIP being put to one side until the leadership issue is settled.It comes after British former NATO commander General Sir Richard Shirreff warned how Britain faces a ‘blood cost’ unless Labour moves to shore up the UK’s defences.Ministers have been wrangling for months over the DIP and a spending boost. Armed Forces Minister Al Carns and Defence Secretary John Healey have fallen out, with the former barred from reading drafts of the plan. While Carns spent the weekend in Makerfield canvassing for Burnham, Healey remains a staunch ally of Sir Keir. According to defence sources, senior military figures fear they could be left with barely £2 billion a year in extra expenditure – substantially less than Labour spent on removing the two-child benefit cap.While former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned the UK may be plotting to extricate itself from the £60 billion GCAP stealth fighter alliance with Japan and Italy due to its rising costs.With Sir Keir expected to announce an additional £15 billion over a yet to be confirmed period, and as last year’s Strategic Defence Review recommended increasing defence spending by £28 billion, savings must be made somewhere.The Times reported today that Sir Keir is preparing to cut spending on net-zero projects such as carbon capture and storage to pay for additional defence spending.Apparently Downing Street has effectively sidestepped the Treasury to tell departments directly to save at least one per cent on infrastructure projects.Government departments will be expected to make savings of around £6 billion, with an unlucky few, including the Department of Energy and Net Zero expected to find more.It also comes after the Mail revealed how the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales broke down again on a NATO exercise and how none of the Royal Navy’s ‘hunter killer’ submarines are available for active service.The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee also warned at the weekend how delays around the DIP have undermined the UK’s credibility with allies.Britain is also second bottom in a NATO league table that ranks member states based on the extent to which they are meeting their rearmament promises.
