British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defense tech company in Swindon, England, June 5, 2026. [Photo/Agencies]
Spending by the United Kingdom government on net-zero policy could be cut as Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks to boost the country's defense budget ahead of July's summit in Turkiye of leaders of the NATO military alliance.
A year ago, a document known as the Strategic Defence Review was published, which laid the ground for the Defence Investment Plan, or DIP, which would set out how the country was going to pay for its security for the next decade.
The Financial Times newspaper reports that the long-delayed DIP will contain details of around 15 billion pounds ($20.04 billion) of investment, which is likely to be funded by cuts to other departmental budgets, rather than more government borrowing or tax rises.
It is understood all departments have been asked to find savings to pay for what the Ministry of Defence called "a generational increase in defense spending, ensuring no return to the hollowed-out armed forces of the past", saying that the DIP "will fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded program we inherited. We are working hard to finalize it".
