Sir Keir Starmer vows to make Britain ‘battle-ready and armour-clad’ but can’t say how he’ll fund it

SIR Keir Starmer yesterday vowed to turn Britain into a “battle-ready, armour-clad nation”; — but could not say how he will pay for it.

The PM refused to give a firm date for hitting his flagship three per cent defence spending target — triggering warnings that his big plans risk falling apart.

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to turn Britain into a ‘battle-ready, armour-clad nation’ — but could not say how it will be fundedThe PM says the country needs to react to the threat caused by the likes of Putin

His includes a pledge to build 12 attack subs, six new munitions factories, creating around 1,000 jobs, and a £15billion boost for the warhead programme.

also aim to make the military ten times more lethal by 2035 — to deal with threats such as ’s .

Sir Keir said in Glasgow: “, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War. The front line, if you like, is here.”;

He said the plan would create “a battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances, and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come”;.

But the — an increase on 2.5 per cent from 2027 — sparked backlash.

Ex-Army chief Lord Dannatt told Times Radio: “It’s a bit like saying in 1938 to Adolf Hitler, ‘Please don’t attack us until 1946 because we are not going to be ready’.”;

He added: “This rather vague commitment to move to three per cent by the end of the next , 2034, just doesn’t stack up.”;

Sir Keir claimed he was “100 per cent confident”; the plan would be delivered, but admitted the three per cent figure was an “ambition”;, not a commitment.

Top brass and economists warned hefty taxes may be the only way to fund the plans.