What Does It Cost To Keep The UK Safe?

Homepage Accessibility links Skip to content Accessibility Help BBC Accountrequire(["idcta/statusbar"],function(a){new a.Statusbar({id:"idcta-statusbar",publiclyCacheable:!0})}),document.querySelector(".idcta-wrapper").classList.remove("no-js") Notifications Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live More menu Search Sounds Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live Close menu BBC SoundsSounds home pageMenuHomeMusicPodcastsMy SoundsEpisode detailsNews,·30 Jun 2026,·42 mins PlayBookmarkBookmarkSubscribeSubscribeAvailable for over a year Today, Keir Starmer has unveiled the long awaited defence investment plan which promises an extra £15 billion to help equip the armed forces for the future. Despite being one of the difficult issues which ultimately helped bring about his resignation, the prime minister seems to hope the plan will form a part of his legacy. But what will it fund and where has the money come from? Alex, James, Chris and security correspondent Frank Gardner discuss. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Alex Forsyth and James Cook. It was made by Anna Harris with Gabriel Purcell-Davies. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.