Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Sir Nick Harvey has criticised the Government's proposed 3 per cent of GDP spending on defence as insufficient for the UK to maintain European leadership.

Speaking to GB News, Sir Nick Harvey said he would not give the spending target "that ringing endorsement" despite supporting the policy's direction.

Harvey expressed doubts about whether 3 per cent would adequately fund the Government's defence ambitions.

"I'm not convinced 3 per cent of GDP would even pay for this," he said, warning that much of the spending would go towards "plugging gaps" and addressing current personnel shortfalls.

Sir Nick Harvey claimed a spending target of 3 per cent is 'not enough' for Labour's 'new era' of defence

Harvey warned that other countries are increasing their defence spending beyond the UK's proposed levels, with some nations allocating "3.5 per cent of GDP on defence and the 1.5 on cyber defence and not conventional military expenditure."

He cautioned that Britain risks falling behind its European allies in defence capabilities.

"Other countries are upping their game, and I think that if we don't raise the financial commitment, we're going to be left behind," Harvey said.

He specifically warned that the UK's "aspiration we have of leading in Europe and helping to build a European pillar of Nato will struggle to be fulfilled."

Harvey questioned whether the 3 per cent target would adequately address fundamental military needs, noting that the UK currently lacks "the number of personnel which it says on the manifesto at the moment".

Starmer delivered his plans for a 'new era' of Britain's defence in Scotland on Monday

He suggested that much of the proposed spending would be consumed by addressing existing deficiencies rather than enhancing capabilities.

The Liberal Democrat spokesman highlighted how Britain's nuclear deterrent costs affect conventional military spending compared to European neighbours.

"Quite a lot of our expenditure goes on the nuclear deterrent, which other countries in Europe are not doing," Harvey said. "So if you're looking at the conventional element of it, we risk being even further behind."

Harvey acknowledged that the Government's policy direction was "broadly speaking right" and said he would "support it as a direction of travel".

Harvey told GB News that the funding would be spent 'plugging gaps' instead of defence

He expressed confidence that "quite a bit of this will happen," though remained sceptical about specific commitments, stating "I'll believe 12 tactical submarines when I see them."

Despite his support for the overall approach, Harvey emphasised that increased financial commitment remains essential to compete with European partners.

He noted that the Government has "a spending review in the next week or two" and suggested it "would have been odd if they had broken ranks" before that process concludes.