09 May 2025
Defence Secretary tells King's audience: "Our commitment to NATO is unshakeable"
The UK’s Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon John Healey, said the government has a pathway to re-establish relationships with Europe, speaking on day two of the London Defence Conference (LDC) at King’s.
In a discussion with Professor John Gearson, Professor of National Security Studies at King’s, the Defence Secretary said he was determined to put NATO first and that Britain should lead wherever possible.
“We went into the election and had a mandate to look to closer EU-UK cooperation on security matters, recognising as they do and we do, that NATO is the cornerstone of our European security for the future,” he said.
“I would like to see Britain’s role as the leading European nation in NATO reinforced. I’d like to see Britain recognised as having the most rapidly innovating armed forces in NATO.”
NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – is a security alliance of 30 countries from North America and Europe. NATO's fundamental goal is to safeguard the Allies' freedom and security by political and military means.
“We’ve been the government that has set out to re-establish those relationships and forge new alliances,” he added.
The Defence Secretary also described how the war in Ukraine had resulted in confronting lessons for the government; some that had been overlooked for too long.
“An armed forces and a country are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them, if forced to fight or facing conflict, so there will be a really powerful emphasis on the strength, the resilience, the innovation of British industry,” he said.
“The NATO warfare is changing so rapidly in Ukraine. Six year timelines for major defence procurement to get to contract, let alone to production and delivery, simply can’t continue.”
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement at the LDC yesterday to boost defence spending, the Rt Hon John Healey reiterated how the government’s approach to the Strategic Defence Review isn’t intended to just strengthen British security, but to strengthen the country’s economy too.
“My job is to make Britain more secure at home and stronger abroad,” he said.
The London Defence Conference, now in its fourth year, brings together hundreds of academics, policymakers and security industry experts at King's College London.
