Labour defence shambles as plan to fill £28bn funding black hole is 'delayed AGAIN' with Nato allies fearing Starmer's dithering will blight major summit with Trump

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 08:40, 29 May 2026 | Updated: 08:49, 29 May 2026 Labour's defence shambles has deepened as it emerged the long-delayed investment plan will not appear next week. Keir Starmer has been wrangling with ministers for months over how to fill an estimated £28billion funding gap for the next four years. The Treasury has been trying to limit how much extra cash it has to find, despite growing alarm at the threats facing the country. There had been briefings the plan might finally be released when the Commons returns from recess next week. However, Government sources have played down the prospect of an announcement. Nato officials have been voicing concern that the package will not be ready in time for a summit in July - when Donald Trump is set to up pressure on the alliance. Keir Starmer has been wrangling with ministers for months over how to fill an estimated £28billion funding gap for the next four years Tensions have been building after the US president criticised partners for refusing to back his war against Iran.   Touring broadcast studios for the Government this morning, pensions minister Torsten Bell said the document will be published 'when it's ready'. He told Sky News: 'So, if you're talking about the defence investment plan, the work is ongoing on that. 'We want to see it come out as soon as possible, but we do have to get the details right, but that isn't holding up levels of defence spending already increasing.' Asked whether the delay to publication suggests the Cabinet cannot agree on the plan, he said: 'No, it suggests that you've got to get the details right. 'I mean, look what the conflict in Ukraine has been teaching us, that there are big changes in the world of warfare, and we need to make sure that our investment plans match up to that, and we need to get the details right. That's what the Prime Minister said, it's an absolute priority for him, and we'll publish it when it's ready.' The Government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.7 per cent of GDP from next year, rising to 3.5 per cent by 2035 in response to an increasingly volatile geopolitical climate. Lord George Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and one of the authors of the Strategic Defence Review, used a lecture last month to hit out at the Government's 'corrosive complacency' on defence spending and accused the Prime Minister of being unwilling to 'make the necessary investment'. The Tories will push for a vote on an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill that would require Defence Secretary John Healey to lay the defence investment plan before the Commons and Lords within a month of the legislation getting Royal Assent. The manoeuvre will come on June 2, to mark a year since Labour published its Strategic Defence Review. Rachel Reeves' Treasury has been trying to limit how much extra cash it has to find for defence, despite growing alarm at the threats facing the country That review pledged to end the 'hollowing out' of the UK's armed forces, but the investment plan to set out defence spending priorities over the next decade – originally slated to come in autumn last year – has still not been released. Shadow defence minister David Reed said: 'Labour has no plan to keep this country safe, with the defence investment plan still missing a whole year after the Strategic Defence Review was published. 'The Government reportedly faces a £28billion black hole in its defence budget, having chosen higher welfare spending over bolstering our military at the most dangerous moment in a generation. 'We will force a vote to compel Labour to finally publish its long-delayed defence investment plan. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.