Former Nato chief to say UK's national security 'in peril'

Former Nato chief to say UK's national security 'in peril'8 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHarry FarleyPolitical correspondentBloomberg via Getty ImagesBritish soldiers on exercises in Germany last year A key government adviser will accuse the UK's leaders of "corrosive complacency" towards defence and warn the country's security is "in peril".Lord George Robertson, the former Nato secretary general who wrote the government's Strategic Defence Review (SDR), will use a speech later on Tuesday to accuse "non-military experts in the Treasury" of "vandalism".The government has promised to publish a 10-year defence investment plan to fund the SDR's vision but it has been repeatedly delayed.A government spokesperson said the SDR was "backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with a total of over £270 billion being invested across this Parliament".In a directly political intervention, Lord Robertson will warn: "We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget."In a speech in Salisbury, the former Labour defence secretary will say: "We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe . . . Britain's national security and safety is in peril."He will add: "There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain's political leadership. Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger - but even a promised national conversation about defence can't be started."The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, previously said the investment plan was on his desk and was being "finalised".A defence official highlighted the government's target to spend 3% of GDP on defence by the end of the next parliament.A government spokesperson said: "We are delivering on the Strategic Defence Review to meet the threats we face."UK not...