𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Keir Starmer has committed at least £1bn more for UK military spending following the resignation of his Defence Secretary.

The long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is set to be unveiled on Tuesday when the Prime Minister tries to shore up his legacy in what could be his final week as Prime Minister.

The new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis has reworked the plan and has made “stark choices” to prioritise the armed forces’ readiness for combat and the use of autonomy across all the services, the Financial Times reported.

The blueprint will include more investment in drones and other autonomous systems than was proposed by Healey, including uncrewed ground vehicles for the British Army to resupply the frontline and evacuate casualties.

The “hard deadline” for finalising the document is July 6, ahead of the Nato summit which begins the following day in Turkey.

Mr Healey resigned over a proposal to increase military funding by £13.5billion, well below the £18billion that he had wanted, following months of intense wrangling between Number 10, the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.

In his resignation letter protesting the government’s spending plans, he called on Starmer to commit to “a head mark date for 3% of GDP on defence in 2030”.

He said Starmer’s plan would take it to only 2.68%.

Extra cash would be a victory for Jarvis following government briefings in the immediate wake of Healey’s resignation that no further money would be forthcoming for his successor.