Labour cuts £160m from next-generation fighter jet programme amid concerns over future
Ministers have been accused of “cutting” the RAF’s next generation fighter programme by 10 per cent this year as Rachel Reeves seeks budget savings.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed £160 million less than expected will be spent on the Tempest project amid wider fears about its future.
It comes after Labour was accused of downgrading its pre-election commitment to increase military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP “as soon as possible”.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said the move amounted to a “cut” to the project that “sends entirely the wrong message to our adversaries”.
An MoD spokesman said suggestions the programme had been cut were “false” and that the underspend had been agreed with the defence industry.
In a written parliamentary answer Luke Pollard, the Armed Forces minister, admitted that the actual level of funding has been reduced to £1.3 billion.
Responding to James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, he wrote: “At the start of this financial year, it was expected that the Ministry of Defence would spend up to £1.46 billion
“The forecast was reduced to £1.3 billion due to revised estimates of programme activity from industry throughout the year.”
Sources told The Telegraph the reduction was as a result of ministers failing to sign off on the full £1.46 billion budget, rather than industry underspend.
But the MoD disputed that claim and said such a one-year underspend, which does not affect the project’s overall long-term budget, was common for a project of this size.
The next generation fighter project, called the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), was launched in 2018 as a joint venture between the UK, Italy and Japan.
It aims to develop a new stealth fighter jet which would come into service in the mid-2030s to replace Britain’s current fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons.
Mr Pollard sparked fears about the scheme’s future in July when he said it hinged on the outcome of the new Government’s defence review.
His remarks prompted concern in Japan and Italy and forced Sir Keir to calm nerves by insisting that Tempest was “a really important programme”.
Under the Tories the project was to be funded in part by ramping up the defence budget every year until it reached 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2030.
Labour refused to match the pledge in opposition, though the party did say that it wanted to hit the same spending target “as soon as possible”.
Last month, the Prime Minister appeared to downgrade that commitment, only telling Parliament that it would be achieved “in due course”.
Cutting GCAP ‘sends wrong message to adversaries’
Mr Cartlidge said: “With the threats we face – from Russia’s continued aggression, to Iran and its proxies in the Middle East – we should be urgently boosting defence spending, not cutting it.
“Cutting a key capability like GCAP is bad for jobs and businesses around the UK and sends entirely the wrong message to our adversaries.
“The Government needs to urgently avoid further cuts by setting a clear path to 2.5 per cent in the Budget later this month.”
It is not expected there will be any more money for defence in Ms Reeves’ first Budget later this month as she struggles to find billions of pounds in savings.
The Chancellor has said she will need to make “tough choices” to fill a £22 billion financial black hole that she says was left by the Tories.
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, has said Labour could not match the Conservative pledge on defence spending because it was “unfunded”.
An MoD spokesman said: “These claims are false – the revised forecast was the result of joint MoD-industry planning.
“Positive progress continues developing a future fighter jet, due to take to the skies by 2035.
“The UK has invested over £2 billion already in the Future Combat Air System programme and the associated R&D programme.”
The spokesman said suggestions that the programme had been cut were “false” and said the underspend had been agreed with the defence industry.