UK faces ‘£28bn defence funding shortfall’, top military chief warns Starmer

The prime minister has reportedly been told that the Ministry of Defence is facing a £28bn shortfall in funding for the next four years, just days after he committed to sending British troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

The UK’s top military chief, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, is said to have told Sir Keir in a meeting before Christmas - also attended by the chancellor and defence secretary - that an MoD assessment showed a £28bn funding gap between now and 2030.

The prime minister last year vowed to make Britain “battle ready” but his defence plans have been overshadowed by a row over money, despite warnings over the threat of an increasingly bellicose Russia.

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The latest revelations, reported in The Times, are thought to have prompted Sir Keir to order an overhaul of the defence investment plan (Dip), which has been delayed after first being expected in the autumn.

But a government source insisted the UK is “on track” to fulfil the commitments outlined in the review.

Sir Richard took over as Chief of the Defence Staff in September and is responsible for the delivery of the strategic defence review published in June.

The UK has pledged to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 in order to plug gaps in Britain’s ailing military.

The review also set out a goal to raise spending to three per cent in the next Parliament “when fiscal and economic conditions allow”. But the latest revelations raise questions over whether or not the targets are achievable.

It comes amid increasing global volatility – with the US president launching a raid on Caracas and capturing the Venezuelan president – and just days after Britain and France signed a historic agreement committing to putting boots on the ground in Ukraine as soon as any ceasefire with Russia comes into effect.

The document, signed at a summit in Paris by French president Emmanuel Macron, Sir Keir and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, was hailed as “a significant step forward” in ensuring Kyiv has security guarantees that would deter a future Russian invasion.

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UK bases and military personnel also supported a US operation to seize an oil tanker in the Atlantic on Wednesday, a vessel which was said to be part of a “shadow fleet” seeking to evade sanctions on Iranian oil.

Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump for the second time in as many days on Thursday as the two discussed the threat that an “increasingly aggressive” Russia poses in the “High North”.

An MoD spokesperson told The Independent: "The UK defence budget is rising to record levels as this government delivers the biggest boost to defence spending since the Cold War, totalling £270bn this parliament alone.

“Demands on defence are rising, with growing Russian aggression, increasing operational requirements and preparations for a Ukraine deployment.

“We are working flat out on the Defence Investment Plan, which will fix the outdated, overcommitted, and underfunded defence programme we inherited.”