After months of delays, Keir Starmer set out a plan earlier this month to publish the long-awaited defence investment plan before the Nato summit in Turkey on 7 July.
That new deadline has proved challenging to meet – amid the final wrangling over funds, the defence secretary and another defence minister have resigned, which played a significant role in the prime minister announcing his own intention to stand down.
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who met with Starmer yesterday, has said he expects all members of the alliance to arrive at the summit next week with “clear, concrete and credible plans” on how they will increase defence spending.
European countries have come under pressure to boost their defence budgets following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and with Donald Trump at times suggesting he would not protect Nato allies failing to spend more on defence, and even pushing to acquire Greenland for the US.