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VIDEO
UK under dual pressure to increase defence spending now
Comments from General Sir Richard Barrons come alongside renewed US demands for Britain to increase its defence spending faster
British forces during a Nato training exercise in Romania in February. The alliance is set to agree a boost in defence spending at a conference this month
ANDREI PUNGOVSCHI/GETTY IMAGES
Larisa Brown, Defence Editor | Bruno Waterfield
Thursday June 05 2025, 12.01am, The Times
Britain is under pressure from the US and its own strategic defence review team to increase spending on defence immediately rather than wait any longer.
Matthew Whitaker, President Trump’s ambassador to Nato, said that the UK and all other member states must agree to spend at least 5 per cent of GDP on defence and security “starting now”.
General Sir Richard Barrons, the former head of joint forces command and one of three external reviewers brought in to draw up the strategic defence review, said that the UK could face a conflict with Russia as soon as this year.
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Pete Hegseth says Nato allies are near consensus on 5 per cent commitment
He said that the Labour government should spend 2.5 per cent on defence now — rather than wait until April 2027 — and hit 3 per cent by the end of this parliament, instead of waiting nearly a decade.
• Max Hastings: ‘War-fighting readiness’ costs more than this
His comments, in an interview with The Story podcast, will make for uncomfortable reading inside the Ministry of Defence (MoD), given that he had recent access to sensitive information concerning the dire state of the armed forces and the threats the UK faces.
He warned that no matter how events turn out in Ukraine, Russia could launch an incursion into a Nato country.
“You either have a very angry and aggrieved and disappointed Russia, or you’ll have a very happy, ambitious and aggressive Russia,” he said. “Whichever of those two it is, there’s still a major risk to Nato — a Nato with less certainty about US support.”
British forces could end up in “confrontation” with Russia, Barrons warned
VV SHOTS/GETTY IMAGES
He added: “Suddenly we were not able to assume that a confrontation with Russia might not be until the early 2030s. It might be in 2025. particularly if there was a rapid peace settlement.”
Asked about the money needed in the MoD, he said: “If it was up to me, I would spend 2.5 per cent now, because waiting for two years means some holes don’t get filled in. It means more money from somewhere. I acknowledge how hard this is but I would get going faster and I would hit 3 per cent b
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