Sir Keir Starmer has launched the landmark Strategic Defence Review in Glasgow.
Every citizen has a role to play’ in ‘defence of the realm’, PM says
Sir Keir Starmer opens his speech by saying the Strategic Defence Review will bring a “unity of purpose” and “mobilise the nation in a common cause – recognising in these dangerous times that when it comes to defence of the realm, and the defence of everything that we hold dear, nothing works unless we all work together”.
The PM says: “Every part of society, every citizen of this country has a role to play because we have to recognise that things have changed.”
The threat facing the UK is “more serious, more immediate, and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War”.
He points to the war in Ukraine, “new nuclear risks”, daily cyber attacks, and Russian aggression in British waters and skies.
This “demands a new era for defence and security” in order to “lead”, and national security is “at the heart of our plan for change”.
Starmer continues by saying the Strategic Defence Review is a “blueprint to make Britain safer and stronger, a battle-ready armour-clad nation, with the strongest alliances and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come”.
The government have announced a plan to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, and an “ambition” to increase it to 3% by the end of the next parliament, as ITV News’ Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe and Carl Dinnen report
The prime minister says the UK is moving to “war-fighting readiness,” as he unveiled plans to boost our military capabilities.
Speaking in Glasgow to launch the government’s strategic defence review, Sir Keir Starmer said he’ll ensure the armed forces are “more integrated, more ready, more lethal than ever.”
“When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready,” he told workers at BAE Systems.
The Labour government launched the strategic defence review shortly after they won the election last year, in response to increasing global instability.
“The threat we now face is more serious, more immediate, and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War,” Starmer said.
