Streeting backs Trump on defence spending despite once calling President an 'odious, sad, little man'

From the Newshound archive · first published 3 October 2026 · last updated 4 October 2026.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has declared Trump "absolutely right" to demand Britain spend more on defence, marking a striking reversal from his 2017 comment branding the President an "odious, sad, little man." Speaking at a Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Keflavik, Iceland, Streeting said the UK must be war-fighting ready by 2030 as Nato warns Russia could strike a member state within four years. He insisted Labour is "well on our way" to hitting 3 per cent of GDP on defence spending, up from 2.3 per cent when the party took office.

Streeting said in 2017: 'Imagine being proud to have that as your President' — he now calls Trump's demands of Europe 'absolutely right.'

Chancellor John Healey plans to fund the Defence Investment Plan in the Autumn Budget, but a definitive 3 per cent roadmap has been deferred to the 2027 spending review.

Backbench Labour MPs are pushing back on military expansion, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously urged caution on defence commitments.