Starmer stumps up half the amount demanded by defence chiefs June 30, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has coughed up just half of the amount of funding military officials requested in the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan. During a speech led by defence secretary Dan Jarvis, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the outgoing Prime Minister, ministers said they made the “right choices” and defended plans to back investment on drones and [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump on defence and metals boost; Oil on track to shed a fifth on US-Iran peace hopes June 30, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil’s speed of decline has taken a hit this week as investors were forced to pause at the renewal of strike action between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was steadying above $73 per barrel, holding onto some of the [...]
Starmer to unveil hotly debated Defence Investment Plan in final act June 29, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer will unveil the highly-anticipated Defence Investment Plan in one of his final acts as Prime Minister. Starmer will publish full funding plans for the Defence Investment Plan (Dip), the government’s 10-year blueprint for armed forces, on Tuesday. He will say that more than £5bn over four years will be invested into drones, [...]
Defence and immigration help Serco weather outsourcing pressure June 25, 2026 Serco said a boost in defence contracts and higher demand for its immigration services across Europe helped offset delays in its North America business, as it reiterated guidance for the year. The FTSE 250 outsourcing group said revenue for the first six months of the year is expected to rise around three per cent to [...]
Babcock predicts global government defence spending spree after hit to profit June 22, 2026 Babcock said it had suffered a £140m financial hit due to delays in a contract with the Royal Navy but reiterated its financial targets for the next year, predicting high spending as global governments plough cash into defence. Profit before tax slumped to £267.2m from £339.4m in the prior year after problems with its Type [...]
John Healey’s principles will cost UK defence companies June 17, 2026 Defence secretary John Healey supposedly quit for British industry, but he has inadvertently handed the main win to its competitors.
Small businesses can help solve defence procurement June 17, 2026 A neutral vendor model for defence procurement will solve issues of scale, reduce bureaucracy and reduce the risks of engagement for all sides, says Rob Levene John Healey and Al Carns may have quit, but the final answer to the question that triggered their exits as defence secretary and armed forces minister has been left [...]
War bonds to lift defence spending ruled out June 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out issuing defence bonds to fund an uplift in spending as a spokesperson said it was “just another form of borrowing”. In his absence at Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer’s deputy David Lammy appeared to open the door to defence bonds being created to fund a rise in spending. The Liberal [...]
Healey condemns Reeves: ‘Our adversaries do not follow timetables set by the Treasury’ June 16, 2026 John Healey has delivered a stinging criticism of Rachel Reeves’ handling of defence spending, warning that the UK’s enemies “do not follow timetables set by the Treasury”. In his resignation speech in parliament, the former defence secretary took aim at Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves for failing to fully fund the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), [...]
I was defence secretary, here’s how we fund our armed forces June 15, 2026 There is a way to attract more capital investment – whether it is the better utilisation of MoD assets, or attracting capital from pension funds to invest in other priorities like NHS hospitals to meet the knock-on impacts of getting to 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence, says Lord Hutton It’s easy to be [...]