NATO must be ‘stronger, fairer, and more lethal’ Foreign Secretary to say
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-02)

UK to highlight ironclad support for Alliance and push Allies to increase defence spending.

• UK says NATO must stay strong and united to boost our collective defence in face of generational threat from Russia

• Foreign Ministers’ summit follows biggest sustained increase in UK defence spending since the Cold War, delivering security for hardworking British people

• Allies set out their ironclad support for Ukraine in NATO-Ukraine Council

The UK will encourage NATO Allies to step up defence spending to support Euro-Atlantic security as the Foreign Secretary arrives in Brussels for the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting today (Thursday 3 April).

He will say that making NATO stronger, fairer, and more lethal is key to protecting the conditions for growth at home.

As the Alliance steps up to face long-term and interconnected threats from Russia and its enablers , the UK will tell Allies that it’s our collective duty to boost defence spending and deter our adversaries. Increases in defence spending mean more and better capabilities, keeping us safe.

While Russia and other actors work to destabilise Euro-Atlantic societies, the UK is playing its part, with the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the Cold War, hitting 2.5% from April 2027 and rising to 3% in the next parliament.

Increasing defence spending by £11.8bn between now and 2027/28 will protect the conditions for growth and security at home, putting money back into the pockets of hard-working British people. Between 2023-24 the defence sector supported more than 430,000 jobs across the UK.

In the NATO-Ukraine Council, the Foreign Secretary will discuss the practical planning undertaken by the UK, France, and other Allies to prepare and deploy as a Coalition of the Willing in the event of a peace deal.

While Putin continues to delay and obstruct on a move to a ceasefire, the UK and Allies have doubled down to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s barbaric invasion. Ukraine has shown its strong commitment to peace, yet Russia’s on-going bombardment of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure has not ceased.

The Foreign Secretary will tell Allies that now is the time to maximise pressure on Putin, through every economic lever possible, to force him to the negotiating table.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

Keeping our country safe is the Government’s first duty, and NATO is the cornerstone of our security, both at home and abroad.

That’s why we have announced the biggest investment to defence spending since the Cold War.

Allies must spend more, produce more and deliver more on defence so NATO can become stronger, fairer and more lethal - boosting our collective defence ensures that NATO is ready for the threats and challenges we face.

At the meeting David Lammy will discuss shared security threats and challenges with counterparts from NATO, as well as the EU and NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners - Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. This includes the challenges China poses to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security, especially its enablement of Russia’s illegal war.

The NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting follows a week of meetings on regional security with Allies and partners across Europe.

On Sunday the Foreign Secretary visited STRIKFORNATO, the naval command centre for the Allied Command Operations outside of Lisbon, before heading to the Weimar Plus Foreign Ministers Meeting in Madrid on Monday, where he urged partners to take a united approach to the global challenges posed by Russia’s war machine. He also visited British and other NATO troops stationed in Kosovo to maintain stability in the Western Balkans.

On Tuesday, the UK added Russia to the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme to expose interference attempts on British soil.