John Healey insists he is '100 per cent' committed to defence after shelving his own target

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'There's always difficult decisions as Chancellor,' the former Defence Secretary admitted

Chancellor John Healey has insisted he is "100 per cent" committed to defence after delaying his own three per cent of GDP target.

The former Defence Secretary, who dramatically resigned from Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet after the then-Prime Minister refused to commit to a three per cent target by 2030, has shot down allegations of hypocrisy as he visited the US for a meeting with foreign counterparts.

Mr Healey's first budget is set for October 28 - but the defence commitments will not be set until next year's spending review.

He has, however, warned that filling a £5billion funding hole would force the Government to make "difficult decisions" in next month's budget.

The Chancellor admitted that his new position on Andy Burnham's frontbench was a "bigger job", but insisted defence was central to next year's spending review.

"For the first time at the spending review, we will set out a clear path about how we will meet that Nato commitment in 2035: 3.5 per cent of GDP," he told The Times.

"As Burnham has said on his first day as prime minister, we will fully meet our commitments to our allies.

"And as part of setting out that clear path, we will set that target date for 3 per cent."

Current spending plans do not go beyond to 2.7 per cent by 2030.

Britain has come under increased pressure from the US to spend more on defence amid global conflicts, namely the Iran war and Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Washington has called for Europe and Canada to take increase spending and take further responsibility for defending the European continent in a plan dubbed "Nato 3.0"

Donald Trump is now reviewing his position on the Falkland Islands as a way of "encouraging the sort of burden-sharing that we seek".

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Mr Healey acknowledged the growing global challenge the UK faces - news in the last few weeks have included Iranian cyberattacks and Russian threats on drone factories.

"The world has become more dangerous," he said. "The threats are increasing and we're stepping up further."

"There's always difficult decisions as Chancellor. The most difficult decisions come to the Chancellor and the Prime Minister in Government."

When asked if Britain should spend 3 per cent of GDP defence, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: "The UK's got some problems, but they'll get solved."

In June, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told Mr Healey's brief successor Dan Jarvis Britain needed to "step up" and "spend even more" before criticising the UK's initial inaction over the Iran war.

Mr Hegseth also mocked Britain's seafaring forces as the "big, bad Royal Navy" after it failed to rapidly send a warship to the Middle East.

In the Chancellor's resignation letter, he said Britain "must" spend 3 per cent of GDP by 2030, but Mr Burnham has already indicated the target would not be hit.

James Cartlidge, Shadow Defence Secretary, has accused Mr Healey of "backtracking on the very pledge which sealed the fate of the last prime minister and opened the door of No 10 to Andy Burnham".

The Prime Minister will, for the first time, face scrutiny from opposition parties today.

Kemi Badenoch has promoted Andrew Griffith - who has over 25 years of private sector experience - to Shadow Chancellor as she readies her Shadow Cabinet for a possible early general election.