Why Keir Starmer will pledge 5% defence spending as Israel and Iran agree to Donald Trump ceasefire

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is to pledge to spend 5 per cent of the UK’s GDP on national security by 2035.

The looming commitment comes after Israel and Iran agree to a ceasefire ordered by US President Donald Trump. Since agreeing the ceasefire, Israel has accused Iran of breaching it after intercepting missiles over northern Israel.

The Prime Minister is heading to The Netherlands for a Nato summit, where 32 member countries are expected to agree to the 5 per cent goal. This includes 3.5 per cent on core defence and 1.5 per cent on defence-related areas such as resilience and security.

The pledge is aimed at placating Mr Trump, who has urged his Nato allies to spend more on defence and security.

US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. | Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Starmer’s position

Speaking ahead of the two-day summit, the Prime Minister said the UK had to “navigate this era of radical uncertainty with agility, speed and a clear-eyes sense of national interest”.

He said: “After all, economic security is national security, and through this strategy we will bring the whole of society with us, creating jobs, growth and wages for working people.”

This comes after the Prime Minister set out proposals earlier this year to increase the UK’s defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027 and a “clear ambition” to reach 3 per cent by 2034 if economic conditions allowed.

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The SNP’s view

SNP MP Stephen Gethins said he supported more spending on defence, but wanted to see the details of the Nato proposals.

SNP MP Stephen Gethins

He told the BBC: “I think we can move towards spending more, but the Prime Minister needs to set out what it is for. Taxpayers rightly should know what it is for.

“I have no problem moving towards greater defence spending, but the government needs to set out what it is for rather than just chucking money at a problem.”

Mr Gethins said the US was becoming an “increasingly unreliable partner” and the UK should look towards its European allies.

This comes after Mr Trump said a ceasefire was “now in effect” between Israel and Iran, and told both countries: “Please don’t violate it!”

Details of the ceasefire

Mr Trump announced the ceasefire at 11pm on Monday night and declared it had come into effect at 6.08am British time.

At 7.10am, Israel agreed to the ceasefire, saying it had “achieved the objectives” of its attack on Iran and had removed Iran’s “dual immediate existential threat” from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.”

State media in Tehran reported “a last round of missiles” were fired before the ceasefire came into effect. It says nine people were killed and 33 injured after an Israeli attack in the northern city of Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh.

Overnight Israel said four people were killed and 22 were injured after an attack in the southern town of Beersheba.

The Israeli government has warned it will “respond forcefully to any violation” of the ceasefire. Iran had earlier said it would stop its attacks if Israel did the same.

However the Israeli military announced at 8.30am that it had identified missiles launched from Iran over northern Israel and had intercepted them.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has since accused Iran of violating the ceasefire. Iran denies firing any missiles, but the IDF says it will “respond with force”.