UK and allies must increase defence spending to keep US in Nato, says Healey
The Defence Secretary said it was time for the UK and European allies to ‘step up, to do more of the heavy lifting’.
The UK and European allies must “do more of the heavy lifting” by increasing defence spending to help keep the US part of Nato, according to Defence Secretary John Healey.
US President Donald Trump is a long-term critic of Nato countries that do not spend more on defence and has suggested those in the transatlantic alliance should spend 5% of their national output.
Mr Healey acknowledged the need for more to be done by Nato members as he faced a series of questions from the Tory benches on when the UK Government would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
The Opposition also urged Labour to scrap the proposed “terrible” deal to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius but pay to lease back the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.
Speaking at defence questions, Conservative former chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Commons: “When the UK persuaded Nato to spend 2% of GDP on defence in 2014, just two other countries did – now it is 23 countries.
“Does the Secretary of State agree that once again it is time for the UK to play a leadership role in Europe by persuading Nato to spend the money it should and keep America part of the alliance?”
Mr Healey replied: “I do indeed. It is time for the UK and European allies to step up, to do more of the heavy lifting and that includes increasing defence spending to meet the threats that we face, it includes – as I’ve discussed with the new defence secretary in the US – boosting also our defence industry on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The UK spent 2.3% of its GDP on defence in 2024, according to the latest Nato estimates.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge opened by saying: “Prior to defence oral (questions), my MPs were sent all of the Ministry of Defence’s answers to our oral questions in advance. So we’ve been forewarned.”
He focused his questions on the Government’s proposed deal on the Chagos Islands, including Downing Street’s claims that the “electromagnetic spectrum” at the Diego Garcia base which “enables secure communications in the region” would not be able to continue to operate without an agreement.
Mr Cartlidge said: “It does say everything about this Government’s priorities that they are delaying increasing defence spending to 2.5% but accelerating their terrible Chagos deal at a cost of up to £18 billion.
“Last week, the Prime Minister justified his Chagos deal by stating that without it, and I quote, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should, and that No 10 later briefed that this was referring to satellite links.
“So is the Secretary of State seriously suggesting that there is currently an operational threat to the US and UK military satellite communications at Diego Garcia?”
Mr Healey said the UK had a “cast-iron” commitment to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, noting this target had not been achieved since the last Labour government in 2010.
He added: “On the Chagos deal, this is a military base that is vital to our national security, the Prime Minister was right to say its legal certainty had been called into doubt.
“That is bad for our national security and it’s a gift for our adversaries, that’s why we looked for a deal that would safeguard the operations for at least the next century.”
Mr Cartlidge said the “world will have seen” Mr Healey had “not defended” the Government’s position on satellite links.
He added: “Given that the former foreign secretary Lord Cameron and previous defence secretary Grant Shapps saw the same intelligence and rejected that deal, and that since then it’s got worse and more expensive, isn’t the obvious thing to do to scrap it and spend every penny saved on our armed forces?”
Mr Healey highlighted the previous Tory negotiations on the deal, adding: “The Prime Minister’s point was that without long-term legal certainty it casts into doubt the operational security of that base and this is a deal that will secure that operational guarantee for at least a century.”
Conservative former cabinet minister Suella Braverman, who said she believed she was the only MP to have Mauritian heritage, said the proposed deal was a “dangerous one”, unaffordable and a “humiliating one in the eyes of the Mauritians, the Americans and the international community”.
She asked Mr Healey: “Why won’t he scrap it?”
Mr Healey earlier criticised “pointless” spending on motorsport sponsorship by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) under the previous Conservative administration.
Labour MP Will Stone (Swindon North) said: “In my time in the Army, I saw first-hand the blokes not getting the kit and the equipment that they needed to operate efficiently.
“It angered me this weekend to read that the previous administration wasted £5 million on McLaren mudflaps.”
After Mr Stone asked the Defence Secretary to prioritise service personnel and national security, Mr Healey replied: “We scrapped the £40 million VIP helicopter deal, we’ve ended the pointless racing car sponsorship and we’ve saved £300 million from an out-of-control consultancy spend.”
Mr Healey added on the racing car sponsorship: “It delivered free race day tickets, MoD sponsored branded mudflaps instead of the kit that our frontline troops need and the minister responsible for that deal was the shadow defence secretary, he agreed the contract, he told this House it was a brilliant partnership.”
