UK Defence Plan Delays Undermine Credibility with Allies, MPs Say
Delays in publishing a report laying out government defence spending have undermined the UK’s credibility with its allies, according to a parliamentary committee that scrutinises public spending. The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was supposed to be published in the autumn but is now due to be released ahead of a Nato summit early next month.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the hold-up means procuring the latest equipment will be more expensive, “hindering the government’s attempt to modernise the Armed Forces”. A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said the DIP would “fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded programme we inherited”, adding: “We are working hard to finalise it.”
Insecurity and instability drive voters in Peru’s tight presidential race. The DIP will explain how new equipment and defence infrastructure will be funded over the coming decade and follows the wide-ranging Strategic Defence Review (SDR) published on 2 June 2025. Defence Secretary John Healey told the Commons on Monday that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was “determined to publish” it.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy insisted the plan “will be absolutely clear” before a Nato summit in July while speaking on the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday. Asked if he would be happy to give up some of his own budget to ramp up money for defence, the justice secretary said defence was the “first purpose” of the nation, stressing that “the money will be found” to meet spending commitments.
The chair of the PAC, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, said that from the committee’s point of view, the nation had “now in fact gone years without a credible plan for UK military capability”. “Those responsible may argue there are good reasons for the DIP’s continuing absence, but our report makes clear that excuses to the effect of ‘taking the time to get the details right’ simply do not cut it.” Sir Geoffrey said that ministers should “simply apologise” instead of defending the delay in publishing the DIP, and should think about the message its absence has given “to the public, as well as the UK’s allies and its adversaries”.
Shania Twain makes unexpected change to her live shows. The PAC report said the DIP’s delay had been “due to the lack of a decision from the MoD as to which capabilities, infrastructure and people it requires to transform the Armed Forces to be warfighting-ready”. It said defence contractors were raising prices because of global instability, meaning delays to procurement could end up costing more. Delaying the release of the DIP also meant an “inability to equip the UK’s Armed Forces for the modern battlefield” and provide a stronger deterrent, undermining the MoD’s credibility with the UK’s allies as well as the defence sector.
In response, the MoD spokesman said that, since coming to power in July 2024, the government had signed more than 1,400 major defence contracts, adding it was providing “a generational increase in defence spending... ensuring no return to the hollowed out armed forces of the past”. One ally watching closely when the DIP is published will be Ukraine, after the UK has so far committed £13bn in military support for the country. Sir Keir will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German leader Friedrich Merz at No 10 on Sunday evening to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine.
Gen Sir Richard Shirreff, who chairs an advisory council for Ukraine’s armed forces, told BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House “it’s going to be very difficult for the prime minister to look President Zelensky in the eye” when he has “failed to put together” the promised defence investment plan. Tribute paid to singer Munawar Sultana.
