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Keir Starmer has defended the decision to publish a funding blueprint for future-proofing the armed forces in the last days of his premiership, amid a row over the defence investment plan, Dip, with his likely successor Andy Burnham. The UK prime minister is to press ahead with publishing the long-delayed plan ahead of the Nato leaders summit on July 7, after a dispute over funding earlier this month triggered the resignation of two defence ministers. But the move has set up a row with his likely successor Burnham, who might want to revise spending on the military. Speaking during a visit to Milton Keynes on Thursday, Starmer was resolute that moving ahead with publishing the plan is the right move. He told broadcasters: ‘Everybody understands why it’s important that we spend the money that we must spend on our armed forces, and so it’s my intention to publish that ahead of the Nato summit. ‘That’s the right time to publish it, when we will be coming together as Nato countries the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen to share our capabilities, and to make sure we emerge from that summit stronger as a military force.’ The head of the armed forces on Wednesday said the military must be given ‘enough money’ to be able to adapt and transform. Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton said it was cheaper to build up military capability now to prevent conflict than to be forced into a costly war. In a speech at a conference organised by the Royal United Services Institute think tank, Knighton said he needs an army that can meet Nato’s demands, blending ‘high-end capabilities’ with low-end ‘consumable and attritable systems’ such as drones. The army’s ‘engine’ needs to be ‘lubricated with enough money that drives the constant adaptation and transformation that we need in order to retain that operational edge’. John Healey quit as defence secretary earlier this month because the Dip was only due to provide £13.5 billion extra investment in defence, far short of the £28 billion over four years which officials had argued for. He suggested the UK was on course to spend only 2.68% of gross domestic product on core defence by 2030, putting doubt on the country’s ability to meet its Nato target of 3.5% by 2035. His successor Dan Jarvis has said his priority is to get the Dip done ‘but not at any cost’. By David Lynch, Press Association Political Correspondent Press Association: News source: PA Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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