Senior figures within Nato have called Britain’s handling of its defence plans “incompetent” as political infighting continues to delay the multi-billion pound blueprint for rebuilding the armed forces, The i Paper can reveal.The long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was expected to be published Tuesday 2 June, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Strategic Defence Review. Instead, Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said on Sunday it would be “more like weeks than months”.
A senior Nato chief said the delays were “suboptimal” for future planning, a view echoed more strongly by an analyst at the alliance who said the repeated hold-ups simply “reek of incompetence.”
“It feels like there’s more focus on bullshit” than big decisions over Britain’s defences, a senior military source told The i Paper. “The current self-inflicted, self-centred political drama is just further delaying things… It’s ridiculous.”
The warning comes as a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in Galați, Romania on Friday – striking Nato territory and raising questions over whether Moscow is deliberately testing the alliance’s defences. Nato has condemned the strike but whether it was an accident or calculated provocation remains unknown.
Marko Mihkelson, the Chair of Estonia’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told The i Paper that the involvement of British forces in Estonia’s defence heightens the urgency of the situation.
‘Completely unnconsciable’
“It is particularly important that the United Kingdom accelerates its defence investments. Given the growing threat posed by Russia, the next four to five years will be critical for the Alliance as a whole,” he said.
A Ukrainian Military Commander, speaking anonymously, said it was “completely unconscionable” that the government still hadn’t published its funding plan.
“The fact they haven’t done anything at all is an insult to the men and women in Ukraine who are laying their lives down now to stop Russia here,” they told The i Paper. “You have had four years to prepare for what is coming and you’ve done nothing.”
Since the inception of Russia’s full scale invasion, the UK has been a staunch ally in Ukraine. This year alone, the UK is set to deliver over 120,000 drones to the frontline, as well as a half a billion pound air defence support package. The UK also conducts air policing across Europe’s eastern flank, and has nearly 1000 British personnel currently deployed in Estonia.
Lengthy delays to the DIP have also reportedly hampered the UK’s programme to replace Typhoon fighter jets. It adds to a growing list of land and air capabilities hampered by delays.
As infighting and leadership battles throw Britain’s defences into a period of heightened vulnerability, tensions across the globe have intensified. Russia’s grey war continues to knock out GPS signals on commercial flights, probe UK critical infrastructure, and sail cruise missiles past UK shores.
Delay after delay
The Defence Investment Plan landed on Starmer’s desk last week, this paper understands, and military officials, including Defence Secretary John Healey, are pushing for its publication before Nato allies meet in Brussels later this month. But there are signs it may still not be ready in time.
Pat McFadden, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said the DIP is “close” and will be published in “weeks than months”.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the plan is being finalised and “will be published as soon as possible”.
They said: “The Defence Investment Plan will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our frontline forces at speed, while investing in and growing the UK economy.”
DWP minister Pat McFadden said the DIP is “close” and will be “more like weeks than months” (Photo: Sky News)The Nato summit falls on 18 June, the same day as the Makerfield by-election. If the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, wins he is expected to launch a bid to replace Starmer as prime minister.
The fight for Downing Street
Starmer is expected to pledge an £18 billion injection into defence spending, as part of his bid to shore up his leadership, and stave off challengers including Burnham and the former health secretary Wes Streeting.
But senior military sources fear political infighting is delaying vital decisions about UK national security. Another insider said the MoD is “fighting for the crumbs off of the Treasury’s table,” and the plans risked being politicised to make Starmer “look tough on Defence.”
Caption: Greater Manchester Mayor and Labour candidate Andy Burnham speaks during his campaign launch, ahead of the Makerfield by-election (Photo: Temilade Adelaja)A senior British official within Nato said “every action or commitment is first of all defined by cost,” adding that “cost is precisely what the Government would sooner not contemplate so the obvious answer is not to act, not to commit.”
Defence projects slowed
The delays are already impacting Britain’s capability on the front line. The UK’s state-of-the-art replacement to Typhoon fighter jets have been delayed by several years, according to The Telegraph.
Britain signed the next phase of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a multinational effort to develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter known as Tempest in April. But delays to the DIP have dented the landmark effort to put next-generation fighters in the skies alongside Japan and Italy by 2035.
It joins a list of projects hampered by delay, including three separate plans to develop UK’s armoured vehicle capability. Programmes to develop the Ajax armoured vehicle, Challenger 3 battle tank and Boxer armoured troop cars have hit snags.
Plans to develop replacements to the RAF’s Typhoon FGR4s have reportedly been delayed by the DIP (Photo: Rob Travis/MoD)The Royal Air Force’s Wedgetail airborne early-warning aircraft programme, a fleet of aircraft fitted with advanced radar and communication technologies to support live operations, is also running significantly behind schedule.
As political infighting continues to hamper Britain’s defence plans, Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on. Allies are watching Downing Street’s decision making, with a damning assessment.
“Ukrainian’s natural friendship and goodwill towards the UK is not endless,” the Ukrainian military commander said. “They are letting themselves, Europe, and Ukraine down.”
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