Keir Starmer 'worse than Hitler-appeasing PM Chamberlain' - from a man who should know

Sir Keir Starmer is spending less on defence than Neville Chamberlain, who is known for appeasing Adolf Hitler. The former wartime Conservative Prime Minister made a number of concessions with Nazi Germany, including the 1938 Munich Agreement, which allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia.

According to Francis Chamberlain, the current Prime Minister is spending less on defence than his grandfather did. He said in a letter to The Telegraph that his grandfather, who led from 1937 to May 1940, increased the UK's defence spending to 10% of GDP ahead of Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939. Meanwhile, the current Prime Minister is planning to spend 2.5% by 2027, despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Mr Chamberlain told the The Telegraph that his grandfather was "convinced of the need for rearmament" by February 1937. He increased the defence budget to £186 million in 1936.37, which was a £50 million increase on the previous year.

He explained how Neville raised income tax and introduced a National Defence Contribution. Despite criticism from the public, the Tory leader knew the importance of being able to fight against the Third Reich.

Mr Chamberlain, from Hampshire, added: "Between 1933 and 1938, Britain's defence budget grew from about 2-3 per cent of GDP to some 6.5-7 per cent. Before the outbreak of war in 1939, the percentage had risen to 9-10 per cent. By comparison, current British defence spending is estimated to be at 2.3 per cent of GDP."

Starmer is set to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by April next year. He hopes this figure will increase to 3% after the next General Election.

This figure is less than what was spent by Neville Chamberlain, who believed that Hitler could be managed through negotiation and adopted a policy of appeasement towards the dictator. Although scholars suggest he was driven by a desire to avoid the horrors of WW1, others remember him as a leader who failed to stop Hitler and the Nazi regime.

Following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1938, Chamberlain recognised his policy had failed and resigned the following year. This led to the appointment of Winston Churchill who oversaw British involvement in the war until Germany surrendered in 1945.

During PMQs this week, Starmer said his Labour Government was "the biggest boost to defence spending since the Cold War". He clashed with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who insisted: "They are cutting defence spending by £2.6bn this year."

The Tories have promised to create a sovereign defence fund which would generate £17 billion in public investment. It would also raise around £33 billion in private capital to help defence.