Keir Starmer announces an additional £15bn in funding for defense ahead of a long-awaited spending plan being published shortly, the BBC reports.
UK defense spending will be £80bn a year by 2029, Starmer said, adding that some road and energy projects will be scrapped to fund it.
“When the world is arming and aggression is rising, the best way to avoid war is to prepare for it,” he said in a speech.
The defense investment plan (DIP) will include plans for a “hybrid navy” and £5bn to increase the armed forces’ use of drones and autonomous weapons.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called the plan insufficient and “barely half what the armed forces say is needed”, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said it’s “late and underfunded.”
