Trump is ‘absolutely right’ the UK must spend more on defence, says Wes Streeting

Defence secretary Wes Streeting has said that Donald Trump is “absolutely right” to demand the UK increase military spending significantly.

Speaking after a summit of Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defence ministers in Keflavik, Mr Streeting aligned his pleas with US demands for Nato allies to shoulder a larger financial burden.

“We want to be deterring Russia, and we want to make sure that if deterrence fails, we’re ready to defeat our enemies,” Mr Streeting said. “Nato-first is our policy, but also it’s why I’ve been really keen to make clear... that president Trump and his administration have been absolutely right to demand more of the UK, more of Europe.”

The intervention comes as ministers navigate domestic fiscal pressures ahead of the Budget, exposing a rift among Labour MPs over balancing military expansion against welfare spending.

Although chancellor John Healey plans to fund the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) in the immediate Budget, however a definitive blueprint to reach the 3 per cent spending rate by 2030 has been deferred to the 2027 spending review.

Mr Streeting maintained the Ministry of Defence would receive a “more than sympathetic hearing” from the Treasury, stressing the need for internal procurement reform to demonstrate value to taxpayers.

“We can’t be complacent and just assume that we can send John Healey’s resignation in as our spending review submission,” Mr Streeting noted, referencing Healey’s previous resignation over defence funding under the Starmer administration.

The push for expanded budgets faces pushback from backbench Labour MPs and prime minister Andy Burnham has previously cautioned that national security “cannot come at the expense of social security”.

Addressing military leaders at a conference last month, Mr Streeting quoted former defence secretary Denis Healey’s 1969 warning that cutting defence until security is imperilled leaves a nation with “no houses, no hospitals, no schools – we have a heap of cinders.”

“I’m happy to sing The Red Flag but this Labour government won’t wave the white flag,” Mr Streeting said, adding that military investment serves to reindustrialise Britain.

The comments coincide with heightened concerns surrounding domestic counter-terror activity. Police arrested a 25-year-old British-Iranian national over a suspected ‘foiled’ plot near RAF Fairford earlier this week, while two small-boat migrants face trial in Manchester over an alleged plot targeting the Jewish community.

Calling Tehran a “malevolent force,” Mr Streeting confirmed the government is assessing responses, including further sanctions.

On Russian posturing in the High North and Baltic regions, Mr Streeting said: “Russia is increasingly engaged in what can only be described as acts of state-sponsored terrorism,” rejecting terms like “hybrid threat.”

Separately, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte warned during a UK visit that European democracies face severe exposure without increased outlay, noting European allies required a “shot of adrenaline” from President Trump.

To address budget shortfalls including a £4.7 billion gap in the MoD’s £15 billion investment plan, British officials met Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in Liverpool to evaluate the Canadian-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank.

The initiative seeks to leverage government-underwritten private capital to scale defence technology – opening up an opportunity to bolster defence without directly adding to national debt.