Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is attending the NATO summit in Turkey, facing potential criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump over the United Kingdom's defense spending commitments. Starmer's attendance comes less than two weeks before he is scheduled to hand over leadership to Andy Burnham.
The UK's recently announced Defense Investment Plan (DIP), which promises an additional £15 billion over five years, has drawn criticism for being largely unfunded and for not providing a clear timetable for reaching the NATO target of 3% of GDP for defense spending. The plan currently commits the UK to reaching only 2.7% of GDP by the end of the decade, with an 'ambition' to reach 3% in the 2030s. New Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis has stated that the Labour party would commit resources to demonstrate a trajectory toward 3.5% at a spending review next year, but neither No. 10 nor Burnham have yet agreed to a specific timeline.
President Trump has been a vocal proponent of NATO allies increasing defense spending, pushing the alliance to agree on a higher target of 3.5% of GDP. He is widely expected to express his displeasure with the UK's current commitment at the summit. Trump and Starmer have previously clashed, with the U.S. president reportedly branding Starmer 'no Churchill' for his refusal to join military action in Iran.
Despite Starmer's impending departure from office, he and Trump are not scheduled for a one-on-one meeting. However, Downing Street indicated that they will be seated next to each other at a meeting, and insisted their relationship remains 'constructive.' Trump has previously made critical public statements about British leadership, including a recent remark calling the country a "deindustrialised welfare zone."
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch, a figure within the Conservative party, has warned that Britain's defense policy is becoming a "pantomime" during a period of heightened global threats. She is urging Burnham to consider welfare cuts to help fund defense investment, asserting that the presumptive prime minister has not adequately addressed the growing security challenges facing the UK. Badenoch characterized Starmer's presence at the summit as that of an "outgoing Prime Minister who is now completely powerless."
In parallel to the political discussions, the Royal Navy has disclosed an incident involving a Russian aircraft conducting a "danger close" low pass of the HMS Prince of Wales in the Norwegian Sea on July 2nd. A Russian Bear-F maritime patrol aircraft reportedly ignored requests from the carrier's control room and subsequently dropped sonobuoy projectiles near the vessel. British commanders responded by scrambling two F-35 jets from the HMS Prince of Wales to shadow the Russian aircraft. This event marks the carrier's first "real-time" engagement with adversary forces and follows recent incidents, including the UK's seizure of a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the English Channel and a close encounter between a Russian fighter jet and a Royal Air Force intelligence aircraft over the Black Sea. Experts have suggested that these actions by Russia are intended to test the resolve of NATO member states. The HMS Prince of Wales was conducting freedom of navigation patrols in the High North as part of the UK's Carrier Strike Group.