US tells Britain it must spend 5pc on defence

Credit: Reuters

The US has told the United Kingdom it must spend 5 per cent of its GDP on defence.

Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, said on Thursday it was “important” that Britain hits the goal as Nato ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss revised spending targets.

It is the first time Britain has been singled out by a senior US official as part of Donald Trump’s efforts to force European allies and Canada to defend themselves.

“Our friends in the UK… we’re going to get there. We think everyone is going to get there, we really do. It’s important they do. It’s important that the UK gets there”, Mr Hegseth told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for refusing to outline detailed plans of how the UK could spend 3 per cent of GDP in the Strategic Defence Review published earlier this week.

The Prime Minister said Britain would achieve the ambition by the next Parliament, which could stretch to 2034.

Nato ministers are currently wrangling over a spending rise that will see the alliance’s 32 member states agree to spend at least 5 per cent of GDP on defence and related infrastructure.

When the target is signed off at a leaders’ summit in The Hague later this month, it will be the first time in more than a decade that the alliance has agreed to higher expenditure.

The decision has come after concerted pressure from Mr Trump, who has previously suggested he would walk away from the alliance unless its member states hit spending goals.

“When you consider the threats that we face, the urgency in the world, it’s critical”, said Mr Hegseth. “We don’t need more flags, we need more fighting formations. We don’t need more conferences. We need more capabilities, hard power.”

Mr Hegseth suggested he was confident that the alliance’s 32 members were close to reaching a consensus on the new spending commitment.

It will see allies, including Britain, having to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on hard defence and a remaining 1.5 per cent on related infrastructure, such as railways and highways used to transport military hardware.

The previous 2 per cent goal was set at a summit in Newport, Wales in 2014, and has been met by a majority of Nato member states.

The US secretary of defence said he wouldn’t “name any names”, but there are understood to be a number holding out against the increased spending goals.

Sources said Spain, Portugal, Italy and Luxembourg had been highlighted as potential concerns, and had long lagged below current thresholds set by the alliance.

Madrid is perceived as the main problem capital in reaching 5 per cent. Margarita Robles, the Spanish defence minister, told reporters her country would stick to the 2 per cent goal and said: “We think that this 2 per cent is enough to meet the responsibilities we have committed to.”

Discussions remain amongst allies on when the targets must be hit. Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, has proposed 2032 as the deadline, as well as supporting an American demand of a hard-wired increase of spending by 0.2 per cent of GDP by each member.