Keir Starmer’s defence plan branded a ‘damp squib’ by ex-Chancellor as PM celebrates £15bn package

Sir Jeremy Hunt has launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister's Defence Investment Plan, declaring the spending figures a "damp squib" compared to what the country needs.

Speaking to GB News, the former Chancellor and Foreign Secretary criticised Sir Keir Starmer for refusing to "bite the bullet" on welfare reforms by scaling back efforts and spending more on defence instead.

Delivering a speech today, the outgoing Prime Minister detailed the published Defence Investment Plan, declaring it delivers the "decisive action" the country needs.

He said: "We are already delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the 1980s. £270billion over the spending review period.

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"And I can announce today that under the Defence Investment Plan, we are increasing this by a further £15billion, setting a new record of spending almost £300billion over the next four years to back our armed forces and strengthen our national security."

Delivering his verdict on the plan, Sir Jeremy told GB News that a relatively low spend fails to address the reality of the "extraordinary times" Britain finds itself in.

He said: "On one level, I understand why he wants to unveil something before the Nato summit next week, which basically is always a moment of high peril because you never know what Donald Trump's going to do next.

"And so he wants to get something out there that shows the UK is spending more, but it is a damp squib."

Sir Jeremy questioned why the Prime Minister is refusing to "bite the bullet" and reform welfare, which he estimates could save "£56billion a year within five years".

He explained: "It's really not going to please anyone so I do question the logic of it, and the fundamental reason is because the Government won't bite the bullet on welfare reform.

"If they got the welfare bill down to 2019 levels, that would save £56billion a year within five years, more than enough to get defence up to three per cent of GDP.

"But they just won't bite the bullet, and that's why we're stuck in this limbo with this defence plan, which has got good bits to it, but it isn't doing the job."

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Challenged on the Conservative record on defence across their 14 years in Government, host Miriam Cates pressed Sir Jeremy on "why defence funding was cut" on their watch.

He responded: "We went through a period where the deficit was 10 per cent of GDP, so we had to make very painful cuts. When George Osborne became Chancellor in 2010, we were borrowing nearly £1 in every four that the state spent. It was incredibly dangerous.

"But then after the invasion of Ukraine, our thinking changed, and that was why Rishi Sunak and I decided that we needed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

"We started to put in place some welfare reforms, but then the election came along, so we clearly were making the choice that is defence over welfare."

Pointing to the country's asylum bill, Sir Jeremy argued that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood "must rue the day" that Sur Keir scrapped the Rwanda scheme.

He told GB News: "Something else that would have made a big difference is if we kept the Rwanda scheme in place.

"The asylum bill is tens of billions of pounds, and we know that was working because we were getting migrants arriving in Ireland saying they didn't want to go to the UK anymore because they thought they might get sent to Rwanda.

"And that was actually happening before the first flights took off. So I really do think Shabana Mahmood, who I think is one of the most capable Labour ministers, in her heart of hearts must rue the day that that Rwanda scheme was cancelled."

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