An ex-Nato chief has slammed Sir Keir Starmer over "corrosive complacency" and has warned Britain's national security is "in peril".
Lord George Robertson, former Nato General Secretary and author of the Government's Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has slammed the Prime Minister, saying he is "not willing to make the necessary investment" to protect the UK.
Also, he will be giving a speech in Salisbury today (Tuesday) where he will say: "We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe...
"Britain's national security and safety is in peril."
Having led Nato from 1999 to 2003, Lord Robertson will also say in his speech that "non-military experts in the Treasury" causing "vandalism".
He will continue: "There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain's political leadership.
"Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger - but even a promised national conversation about defence can't be started."
In an interview in the Financial Times, the peer also referenced the "ever-expanding welfare budget" as a reason why we cannot "defend Britain".
Lord George Robertson and Sir Keir Starmer in 2024
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The SDR, delivered in June last year, was "backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with a total of over £270billion being invested across this Parliament", a Government spokesman said.
However, the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is still outstanding, as Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Opposition pointed out in the House of Commons on Monday.
She said the DIP was "no where to be seen" and called upon the Government to find a way to increase defence spending before the end of the Parliament.
Sir Keir has previously said the DIP was being "finalised".
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There have been warnings the UK military is facing a £28billion funding gap over the next four years
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In the SDR, Lord Robertson, alongside the other authors, General Sir Richard Barrons and Dr Fiona Hill, acknowledged that "words such as 'transformation' have been used before in defence reviews but the intention has seldom been delivered".
They summarised in the review that "'busineses as usual' is not an option".
The DIP was due to be published last autumn, as a follow-up to the SDR, to essentially fill the gaps in military investment that the review had uncovered.
However, the DIP has been pushed back on numerous occasions now, as there are growing concerns the military faces a £28billion funding black-hole over the next four years.
This has created a stalemate between the Ministry of Defence, the Treasury and No10, who sources say, cannot agree on how to move forward.
Defence spending last year was 2.3 per cent of GDP, roughly £66billion.
The Government has a target that this figure increased to three per cent of GDP by the end of the next Parliament, moving further to 3.5 per cent by 2035.
Lord Robertson alluding to the "ever-expanding" welfare budget possibly suggests this is an area where money can be freed up to allocate towards defence.
This view might be one shared by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
However, the Government's aims to cut welfare spending was neglected last year, following a rebellion from backbench Labour MPs.
Sir Richard, one of the SDR's other authors, speaking to the BBC, agreed with Lord Robertson's sentiments: "There's an enormous gap between where we have to be to keep the country safe in the world we now live in and where we actually are."
The SDR said that the UK faces multiple, direct threats for the first time since the Cold War and that a "step-change in the threats we face demands a step-change in Britain's defence".