Breaking: Trump tipped to deliver blunt three-word put-down on Starmer’s defence budget plans….Read More

EXCLUSIVE: The stakes are high with Sir Keir Starmer due to meet Donald Trump within hours – and Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford says the confusion over the true increase to UK defence spending will not help matters.

Donald Trump is unlikely to be overly impressed with Sir Keir Starmer’s planned increase to defence spending when the pair meet at the White House, a former British Army officer has said.

Sir Keir’s face-to-face with the US President comes amid differing views on the conflict in Ukraine and America’s push for a swift peace deal.

Mr Trump’s recent policies have surprised European allies, fostering closer ties with Russia and criticising Ukrainian leadership, which has led to concerns about the future of European security and the UK’s role in supporting Ukraine.

Against this backdrop, Sir Keir announced a significant increase in the UK’s defence budget, aiming to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament. To fund this boost, the Government plans to cut the overseas aid budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP.

Confusion has arisen due to discrepancies in the reported figures regarding the defence budget increase. During parliamentary sessions, Starmer mentioned a £13.4 billion increase over multiple years, while Defence Secretary John Healey referred to a £6 billion increase, leading to debates and accusations of number manipulation.

Lieutenant General Stuart Crawford, who served in the 4th Royal Tank Regiment, outlined his concerns in a blog uploead to the DefenceReview.uk website.

Asked about Mr Trump’s likely reaction, he told Express.co.uk: “I suspect he’s going to say whichever way you count it it’s still not enough. Which it isn’t.

It’s a step in the right direction but long overdue and we’re basically playing catch-up.”

Lt Col Crawford added: “The biggest funding requirement is personnel. All three services are under recruited and outflow is greater than inflow.