Two sources said the deficit had been reduced by \u00a315bn after Dan Jarvis successfully persuaded the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to give the Ministry of Defence a little more than the \u00a313.5bn promised to his predecessor, who quit in protest at the package<\/a>.<\/p>\n The cash has allowed Jarvis to increase an already promised \u00a34bn spend on drones to \u00a35bn over the next four years, as part of a deal that Keir Starmer<\/a> was desperate to conclude before leaving office.<\/p>\n Some of the extra money for defence had been found by asking other government departments to take a cut of at least 1% from their capital budgets in one of the most acrimonious Whitehall rows in recent memory.<\/p>\n Allies of Jarvis said he wanted to \u201clook people in the eye\u201d when the plan was published \u2013 while those close to Reeves said she had found him easier to deal with than Healey, who had become frustrated in his final weeks as defence secretary.<\/p>\n One person close to the chancellor added that unlike Healey, Jarvis has negotiated directly with Reeves rather than going through the prime minister, which has made it easier to come to an agreement. A week ago, Jarvis had secured an extra \u00a31bn<\/a> and was seeking more in a final round of negotiating.<\/p>\n Healey has taken a close interest in developments since his departure and is expected to speak in the Commons on Tuesday as the 80-page document, covering dozens of defence projects from frigates to nuclear submarines, is presented to MPs.<\/p>\n Royal Marine commandos will be supplied with additional uncrewed speedboats, made by Kraken Technology, from Fareham in Hampshire, in one of the extra commitments secured by Jarvis from the Treasury.<\/p>\n They will be deployed as part of a peacekeeping mission in the strait of Hormuz to help detect hostile incoming drones, military sources said, should a durable peace agreement be reached between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n Starmer will unveil the plan at a defence firm on Tuesday morning, justifying it as creating jobs as well as strengthening national security. It would, the outgoing prime minister says, \u201chelp drive growth across the UK, giving our industrial base the confidence, certainty and support it needs\u201d.<\/p>\n A similar argument was made by Andy Burnham, the likely next prime minister, in a speech in Manchester on Monday. He said that in future UK public procurement would be based on \u201chelping our own British-based suppliers become more stable and competitive\u201d, which \u201cwill apply fully to the defence investment plan\u201d.<\/p>\n Allies of the former Greater Manchester mayor have indicated that they want the row over the plan resolved before he comes into office. But they added that he would reserve the right to reopen it if needed, amid warnings from former service chiefs that the UK was not committing enough.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every day<\/p>\n Sign up to Headlines UK<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Over the weekend, Tony Radakin, the previous head of the armed forces, warned that there was a risk the UK would \u201cfall short\u201d of spending enough to deter future Russian aggression \u2013 and he called on Burnham to introduce a \u201cMoscow test\u201d<\/a>, asking how decisions on UK defence spending would be perceived by the Kremlin.<\/p>\n Starmer had committed the UK to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, an increase of nearly \u00a330bn from the projected 2.6% spend in 2027. Healey had wanted Starmer to go to 3% by 2030 on the way to the final target, but the prime minister was willing only to offer a modest increase to 2.68%.<\/p>\n Mark Rutte, Nato\u2019s secretary general, said on Monday that he was confident that the UK would eventually meet its spending commitments though he acknowledged he did not expect the UK to hit the 3.5% target \u201cin one big step\u201d in the plan.<\/p>\n Visiting the UK, where he met Starmer ahead of next week\u2019s Nato summit, Rutte said believed Burnham would see broader value in boosting UK defence spending by nearly \u00a330bn a year and that \u201cjudging from history\u201d Labour prime ministers had shown \u201ca consistent commitment to Nato\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782332000_529_500.jpg\")
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