UK needs 'credible path' on defence spending, says Nato chief

Nato chief Mark Rutte has said he is confident the UK government understands the need for a "credible path" to increase defence spending.

The alliance's secretary general told the BBC he was "absolutely confident" in the UK's commitment to hit a Nato-wide spending target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

Speaking after meetings in London, he said British ministers accepted the need to make yearly steps towards hitting the target.

But he accepted that the exact "pathway" towards the goal would not be set out until next year.

Since entering Downing Street, Andy Burnham has recommitted to the Nato 3.5% target, after predecessor Sir Keir Starmer signed up to the goal last year.

But he has faced pressure to immediately set out a path towards an interim goal of 3% by 2030, which his chancellor John Healey had previously held up as a sign of credibility that Britain was serious about the goal.

Former Dutch PM Rutte has been encouraging members of the alliance not to defer spending increases until the last minute.

Speaking to BBC political editor Chris Mason after meeting Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in London, Rutte said he was confident British ministers understood the 2035 target could not be met "in one go in 2034".

"I am absolutely confident that when it comes to the 3.5[%] they are there," he said.

"I am absolutely confident that when it comes to the yearly increments, they totally take it and accept it, that they have to be there.

"There has to be a credible path. What that credible path exactly will be, we will see with the spending review next year," he added.

Rutte also said that defence spending should be separated out from the issue of welfare, adding that economic growth was the key to ensuring military commitments could be met.

The Conservatives have been pushing for hikes in defence spending to be funded through cuts to benefits, and have criticised Burnham for saying last week that national security "can't come at the expense of social security".

Rutte added: "I don't know all the details of the UK economy, I think this is something this government is now navigating," he added.