‘Bizarre’ lack of urgency in putting UK on war footing, says defence review co-author

Fiona Hill, a former White House chief adviser, joins ex-Nato chief in criticising Starmer’s leadership on defence

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A co-author of Britain’s strategic defence review has joined criticism of Keir Starmer’s leadership on military policy, warning of a “bizarre” lack of urgency in defence planning.

Fiona Hill, a former chief adviser to the White House on Russia, echoed the concerns of George Robertson, her co-author with Gen Richard Barrons on the strategic defence review (SDR), over what he had called the prime minister’s “corrosive complacency”.