In a private call moments after the news broke, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told his British counterpart John Healey that the spending increase was “excellent” and “a great leadership step,” according to a person with knowledge of the discussion.
That reaction will be seen in Downing Street as a vindication of Starmer’s decision to announce the extra cash just before his White House meeting Thursday. Starmer wants to be a “bridge” between European countries and Trump — and the president’s sudden hostility toward Ukraine and Europe reinforced the urgency of his task. “The last few weeks have accelerated my thinking,” Starmer said.
Element of surprise
For maximum impact, the plan had to be kept secret.
Starmer had been privately discussing the plan with his finance minister, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, for weeks, officials said. But even Britain’s most vital allies — not to mention its own Cabinet ministers — were not told until the last possible moment.
Trump’s team was only informed about the spending plan Tuesday, two senior U.K. officials told POLITICO. One said the White House was informed at around the time Starmer made his unexpected announcement to parliament, or just before. Healey, the U.K. defense secretary, rushed straight from Starmer’s statement in parliament to call his U.S. counterpart, Hegseth, with the news.
Even when a tight-knit group of U.K. ministers met secretly in Downing Street on Monday night, they did not discuss the defense spending announcement. The “mini-Cabinet” — which included Starmer, Reeves, Healey, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden and No. 10 national security adviser Jonathan Powell — considered other policy areas ahead of the U.S. trip.
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