Delays to defence investment plan have damaged UK’s credibility, say MPs

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, visited one of the navy’s Vanguard-class submarines in Scotland in April. Photograph: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street View image in fullscreen The prime minister, Keir Starmer, visited one of the navy’s Vanguard-class submarines in Scotland in April. Photograph: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street Delays to defence investment plan have damaged UK’s credibility, say MPs Committee calls for apology from government amid reports navy’s hunter-killer submarines are all docked A parliamentary committee that scrutinises public spending has made scathing comments about the impact of delays in the publication of the government’s defence investment plan (Dip). The Dip, originally expected last autumn, has been repeatedly postponed amid warnings that the military faces a huge funding gap over the next four years. It is due to be published before a Nato summit early next month. In a report, the public accounts committee (PAC) said the delay was undermining credibility with the UK’s allies. The chair of the committee of MPs, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said: “Those responsible may argue there are good reasons for the Dip’s continuing absence, but our report makes clear that excuses to the effect of ‘taking the time to get the details right’ simply do not cut it. “Whatever the content of the Dip when it eventually does appear, the damage from its absence has been done – to the nation’s credibility, to its safety, to its armed forces, and to certainty within its entire defence industrial base. “Any government minister attempting to explain away this delay to the Dip should instead ask themselves what message the bureaucratic drift of the past months has given to the public, as well as the UK’s allies and its adversaries, and simply apologise.” View image in fullscreen The UK defence secretary, John Healey (left), during a visit to Cyprus in March. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images The Ministry of Defence (MoD) “has not yet decided which capabilities, infrastructure and people it requires to transform the armed forces to be warfighting-ready within the budget available” and “nor has it secured the cross-government agreement that the plan needs”, the report added. The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer , has said the plan, originally promised in autumn 2025, will be published before the Nato summit in Turkey, beginning on 7 July. A spokesperson for the MoD said the government is providing a “generational increase” in defence spending, with an extra £270bn across this parliament. “The defence investment plan will fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded programme we inherited,” said the spokesperson. “We are working hard to finalise it. As the defence secretary told parliament this week, the prime minister is determined to publish it before the Nato summit.” The PAC report comes as it emerged the MoD is developing a submarine maintenance recovery plan amid reports the Royal Navy’s entire available fleet of hunter-killer submarine