Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

• Largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War in the 1980s
• £270bn earmarked over the next four years
• Seismic shift to smaller, cheaper, uncrewed and autonomous systems
• £63bn for the nuclear deterrent
• £11bn to replenish the weapons and munitions sent to Ukraine
• £8bn for the next generation combat aircraft
• £790m for air and missile defence
• £330m for protecting Britain’s undersea cable
• Regular Army to be increased to 76,000
• "Some tough choices" and programmes sacrificed

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for defence, James MacCleary, says the delayed defence investment plan is lacking in ambition and the current funding is not enough.

He asks the defence secretary if the experts and the former defence secretary were wrong about the need for more funding - or does he truly believe this defence plan is enough "to keep Britain safe".

MacCleary also raises what he calls the "sorry state" of forces' housing and asks about funding for improvements for those living in "mouldy homes".

Jarvis says the defence plan represents a big increase in funding and he's absolutely committed to making sure the armed forces have an appropriate quality of housing.

The defence secretary says he remembers living in armed forces accommodation himself that hadn't been properly maintained - but he says the plan has to be costed and has to be responsible.

He adds that he's pleased with plan, but we do need to do more at next spending review, when defence spending will be "the number one priority."

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

The former Defence Secretary John Healey has made abundantly clear that he still does not believe this investment plan offers enough money for the armed forces.

Healey resigned over what he perceived as a lack of funding in the plan earlier this month.

Since then the government has found an extra £1.5bn for defence.

But Healey says “more needs to be done” beyond this plan.

He says that 2.7% of GDP going on defence by 2030, which this plan wound deliver, is not enough and points out that NATO have warned members to be prepared for a Russian attack that year.

Healey says the government must find a way to get to 3%.

Dan Jarvis says “he’s right that we need to do more” and commits to further funding in future government spending reviews. But Healey and those who agree with him are likely to want assurances well before then.

Former Defence Secretary John Healey is up next.

He says European security is "at stake" and threats are still growing. Today's plan, Healey says, means Britain will be spending 2.7% of its GDP on defence in 2030 - the date that Nato warns "we could now face a Russian attack".

More needs to be done "to develop a clear, credible funding plan" to tackle this, he says.

Jarvis says Healey is "right" that the government needs to do more and that is why it is a "clear commitment that that will be a number one priority at the next spending review".

James Cartilidge says the drones promised by Labour "will mainly enter service in the 2030s".

"Far too late in this fast-changing world of tech-driven warfare," he says.

Responding to Cartilidge's comments, Jarvis says Labour have just announced the largest ever investment in drones in the country's history and questions why the shadow secretary would criticise that part of the plan.

He says that we have a "moral duty" to support the armed forces with the best possible living conditions.

Jarvis says the government inherited 2.3% defence spending from the Conservatives and it is currently at 2.5% and will be at 2.7% by the end of this parliament.

He repeats that defence spending will be at 3.5% of GDP by 2035 and that defence spending will be the government's number one priority at the next spending review.

Britain to fail reaching Nato target of 3% of GDP on defence spending by 2030published at 15:08 BST

15:08 BST

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

The newly-announced Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will delight some, while still falling well short of what others demand as being the bare minimum needed to keep Britain safe.

This, as the government says, is the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War in the 1980s, with £270bn earmarked for defence over the next four years.

The plan includes £63bn for the nuclear deterrent, £8bn for the next generation of combat aircraft, £11bn to replenish the weapons and munitions sent to Ukraine and £330m for protecting the UK’s vulnerable undersea cables.

Above all, it marks a radical transformation of the military towards multiple cheaper, uncrewed and autonomous systems, ie drones. It’s a lesson learnt from the recent wars in Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz.

But buried in the detail is the fact that Britain will fail to make the target 3% of GDP spent on defence by 2030, as mandated by Nato. Instead, it will be 2.7%.

Russia currently spends in excess of 7.5%. There is an intention to meet the target of 3.5% by 2035 but as the former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace points out, the threat from Russia is now, not in the 2030s.

Cartlidge continues his retort to Jarvis.

He asks if the Defence Minister can confirm that the defence investment plan includes cutting millions of pounds on forces housing and "shifting it into the next Parliament".

Cartlidge also asks if Jarvis agrees that the "top priority" must be to back our former soldiers and scrap the Northern Ireland troubles bill.

He adds that Starmer has published the investment plan "in desperate search of legacy, but it is a legacy of failure".

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge says the plan is too little, too late.

He says the plan is months overdue, and much of the capability it contains won't be in service until the 2030s, when the threat facing the UK, is "right now".

Cartlidge says the plan is barely half of what the chief of defence staff said was needed - £28bn to fund the armed forces over the next four years.

"This plan is barely half that requirement," he tells MPs.

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

When Al Carns resigned as the armed forces minister earlier this month, he had some very specific criticisms of the government.

In his letter, he said: “We are still purchasing capability suitable for the last war while our adversaries arm for the next one.”

And Dan Jarvis nodded quite obviously to that criticism in the Commons just now.

As well as achieving extra money overall, he said he had decided to “reprioritise” £1bn of spending within the DIP to more modern forms of warfare.

He then immediately praised the work of Al Carns, who is sat three rows behind.

While MPs debate the government's spending plans, the Defence Investment Plan itself has been published in full, external on the government's website.

We're looking through the 80-page document now and will bring you key details from it.

Meanwhile, the debate in the Commons continues...

Jarvis commits £9bn over a decade to raise the conditions of military family housing "to match the service and sacrifice of those living in them".

He says that the UK has made a promise to its allies to raise defence spending to be 3.5% by 2035.

He says its commitment to Nato is absolute in a more dangerous world and it will reach 3% in the next parliament with funding set out in the next spending review, where defence will be the number one priority.

He says Britain has also met its Nato spending commitments. He adds that Britain has always stood with its allies and under this government it always will.

Jarvis says Britain needs an integrated high low force that can fight across every domain.

He announces the government will be committing £8.6bn to the global combat air programme with Japan and Italy.

The UK will invest £26bn for "extensive" naval base upgrades, £790m to protect overseas bases from air drone and missile threats and £11bn for munitions and weapons to increase UK stockpiles, Jarvis adds.

He says £64bn will go towards funding new Dreadnaught and AUCUS submarines, adding the UK's nuclear deterrent is the "ultimate guarantee of our security".

Jarvis adds there will be £3bn in funding for space capabilities, £4bn in cyber and £400m to protect undersea cable and pipelines.

Image source, House of Commons

Jarvis says there will be a further £1bn in the defence investment plan "to better reflect how war is waged today".

He continues and says AI capabilities are "no longer capabilities of the future" - and they will now have investment.

He says the plan includes "the UK's largest ever investment in drone warfare".

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

Very early on in this speech Dan Jarvis said he’d managed to secure an extra £1.5bn for this plan in the few weeks he’s been in the job.

This comes after several discussions between Jarvis and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Reeves is sat next to Jarvis and has been nodding along as he extols the government’s record on defence investment.

Interestingly some in Westminster were last night pointing to how strong the relationship is between Jarvis and Reeves, describing it as “collegiate” since he became defence secretary.

That’s a marked difference to the sort of briefings happening when John Healey resigned as defence secretary, when it was clear that the relationship between him and the Treasury had soured badly.

Image source, House of Commons

The defence secretary tells MPs £1.5bn more has been committed to defence spending than when he took up the job a couple of weeks ago.

"This means defence spending will now increase in real terms by 27% between 2023 and 2024 and 2029 and 2030," he tells MPs.

He says it represents a bigger increase in spending on defence across a parliament than anyone in the Commons has ever seen.

We've made some "difficult but necessary" decisions to fund this, but fiscal rules have been upheld, and day to day spending on public services have been protected, he says.

Jarvis says the defence investment plan will make sure that the armed forces have "the kit and the technology" they need for the future.

He thanks the Ministry of Defence, and says it has been a privilege working with colleagues there over the past few weeks.

Jarvis then thanks the prime minister and chancellor, and says that they have demonstrated a "steadfast commitment to our national security" and that Britain is better supported and prepared as a consequence.

He says Ukraine is "still strong in the fight" against Russia, and Britain has proven itself a "reliable ally".

He also pays tribute to his predecessor, John Healey, who he says "could not support an earlier version of the plan", adding that he will lay out what has changed and why he can support it.

Image source, House of Commons

Dan Jarvis begins by saying that our armed forces represent the very best of Britain and they "make the most extraordinarily complex challenges appear routine".

He says that they serve at an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable moment in history.

Image source, Reuters

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis is now speaking in the House of Commons to deliver his statement on today's defence investment plan.

We will be bringing you all of the key lines here and you can follow along by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

Image source, Reuters

Britain's commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence and national security by 2035 may be too late, Lithuania's defence minister says.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, Robertas Kaunas says he thinks the UK is doing "what is necessary to meet capability targets" but says they should be "met on time".

"I'm not sure 2035 is the right date. In Lithuania, we think we should be ready by 2030," he says.

As a reminder, Nato members agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security-related spending by 2035 - with 3.5% on strict defence spending and 1.5 per cent on national security.

For Lithuania, "5% by 2035 doesn't sound very ambitious," Kaunas says. He adds that Lithuania already spends 5.38% of GDP on core defence, in addition to 1.6% on wider security needs.

According to Starmer, the defence investment plan will bring UK spending on defence and national security as a percentage of GDP up to 4.2% - take a closer look at the league table of Nato spending here.

Joe Coughlan
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Today's funding towards the UK's defence systems will provide "short-term certainty" but "long-term uncertainty" to the country, according to a retired Royal Navy captain.

John Foreman tells me that he expects to see a variety of sectors within the armed forces faltering if more funding is not pledged towards running costs, including exercises, maintenance and equipment.

He says: "The armed forces are already struggling. They have got a little bit more money for running costs between now and 2030 but it's still not anywhere near enough."

Despite being unconvinced by the government's pledges as a whole, Foreman says he is encouraged by the plans towards strengthening the UK's nuclear deterrent and global combat air programme.

He adds: "That is what Russia fears, not a few drones here and there, but proper capabilities."