Defence plan earmarks £1.9bn for overseas bases and ‘continued support’ for Gib 

The UK Government’s Defence Investment Plan [Dip] earmarks £1.9 billion for investment in Britain’s overseas bases through to 2030 and expressly sets out continued support for the base in Gibraltar. 

The plan was published on Monday and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said an extra £15 billion investment in defence will mean the UK will be ready to fight Russia if Vladimir Putin launches an attack in 2030. 

“When the world is arming and aggression is rising, the best way to avoid war is to prepare for it,” Sir Keir said. 

“The best way to defend is to deter, to have the strength to make your adversaries think again before they act.” 

“And that is what we are doing.” 

Asked if he could say the funding was enough to deter a Russian attack by 2030 or fight it if required, Sir Keir said: “Yes, I can.” 

The defence aims are laid out in broad terms and it is unclear how much of the spending, if any, will be earmarked for projects in Gibraltar. The document does not set out territory-by-territory budgets. 

And while the 80-page document includes a specific mention of Gibraltar in a list of the “most transformative investments in the first four years” of the plan, the reference is sparse and lacking in any detail. 

Referring to “new, improved military infrastructure”, the specific section of the Dip where Gibraltar is mentioned reads: “Investing in resurfacing of runways including in RAF Brize Norton, RAF Coningsby, RAF Valley, and RAF Waddington, new power supply facilities in the Falklands, and continuing to support bases in Diego Garcia and Gibraltar.” 

“We will aim to ensure that the Defence estate contributes to wider Government climate, energy and environment commitments.” 

Elsewhere in the same section, the plan refers to “…enhancement of overseas bases and British Overseas Territories.” 

“Modern, resilient infrastructure is essential for readiness, and the quality of our Defence estate is a key driver of military morale,” the Dip said.  

“Defence owns and operates a vast portfolio from which our Armed Forces personnel live, work, train, and deploy, including vital overseas territories that enable a global presence.” 

“This requires billions of pounds of investment to meet the standards our Armed Forces require and deserve.” 

“The war in the Middle East has demonstrated the strategic importance of our UK and overseas bases and shown how our UK personnel are increasingly being called upon to deliver rapid defensive operations to protect British people, interests, and allies.” 

The document also earmarks £790m to “enhance protection of the UK homeland and overseas bases” from air, drone and missile threats over the next four years. 

It flagged Integrated Air and Missile Defence as a “priority capability area” to address during the development of the plan.  

“This is vital for the defence of the UK homeland (including our NATO Article III commitments), overseas bases, and our overseas territories – as well as our allies,” the document said. 

It is still too soon to know whether any of that will be destined for Gibraltar. 

What is clear is that Gibraltar remains an important base for the UK Government at a time when defence spending is under severe pressure. 

Before he left Gibraltar at the end of a four-year posting last week, former Commander British Forces Commodore Tom Guy said the Rock’s military strategic importance had sharpened in recent years as conflict in the Middle East and instability elsewhere underlined the value of sovereign infrastructure at the gateway to the Mediterranean. 

With the UK government under huge pressure to increase its defence budget, Gibraltar must “vociferously and enthusiastically” make its case within wider competing defence interests, he said. 

On Monday evening, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said the Dip would enable additional investment in defence infrastructure in Gibraltar. 

“Gibraltar is and remains a hugely important part of the infrastructure of security for the UK, NATO and its allies,” he told the Chronicle.  

“The Dip will enable further investment in Gibraltar, which will provide us greater prominence as part of that UK defence infrastructure.” 

WIDER SPANDING PLAN 

On Monday, the Prime Minister acknowledged some other areas of UK Government spending would be slashed in order to fund defence, with cuts to road and energy projects to pay for the military. 

The plans include billions more for the next generation of stealth jets, the largest ever investment in drone warfare and confirmation the UK will buy F-35A planes capable of carrying nuclear bombs. 

But older equipment including two Type 23 frigates and older Chinook and Wildcat helicopters will be retired. 

The defence investment plan was originally due to be published last year but was delayed in part due to bitter Whitehall wrangling over funding. 

John Healey quit as defence secretary earlier this month, claiming he had only been offered £13.5 billion for the Dip. 

The new settlement involves an extra £15 billion over four years, partly paid for through cuts to capital budgets from other departments. 

The funding in the Dip comes on top of the £270 billion promised for defence from 2025/26 to 2028/29. 

Annual defence spending will increase from £54 billion when Labour came to power to £80 billion by 2029, Sir Keir said. 

The plan reverses the “corrosive hollowing out” of the armed forces, he said in a speech at a drone company in Berkshire. 

But shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the plan was “too little, too late”. 

And General Sir Richard Barrons, a co-author of the Government’s 2025 strategic defence review, said the plan is “not going to crack the issue” of properly funding the nation’s armed forces. 

Sir Richard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re not keeping up with our allies, we’re certainly not keeping up with our enemies, and we know that the US is no longer going to come and save European security in the face of a Russian threat.”