STORY
The Government is expected to publish its delayed Defence Investment Plan before the NATO summit, with ministers under pressure to set out how the Strategic Defence Review will be funded. Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis has said the plan will be published before the summit, while further reports suggest additional funding has been negotiated with the Treasury.
The plan is expected to focus on future military capability, including autonomous systems, drones and modernisation of the armed forces. Sir Keir Starmer previously said the Defence Investment Plan would bring together the money and the capability required to implement the Strategic Defence Review.
The issue has become politically sensitive after the resignation of former Defence Secretary John Healey and wider arguments inside Government over the pace and scale of defence spending. Ministers have maintained that national security remains a central priority and that the plan will give the armed forces and industry greater certainty.