Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost called out a Tory MP for criticising the government’s defence spending today.

Keir Starmer is facing additional pressure on national security as Donald Trump is pushing to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The UK has already said it would send peacekeeping troops to protect Ukraine if an agreement was reached – but that declaration has only exacerbated existing concerns over the lack of investment in defence.

Labour has also promised to hike defence spending from its current rate of 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% although it is yet to offer a clear timeline.

But, when shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns slammed the prime minister for not increasing investment in the sector sooner this morning on Sky News, she received a bleak reminder.

The MP began by claiming Starmer’s “priority today should be to talk about defence spending” – something she said should have in place “since July”.

But presenter Frost quickly hit back: “I mean, you’re trying to criticise the state of defence spending, [seven] months into their government when this is a long-term issue after 14 years in power.”

After almost a decade and a half of Conservative government, defence spending in real terms fell to £53.9bn during their last full year in power, 2023-24.

That’s less than the last full year Labour was last in power, 2009-10, when defence spending was at £57.1bn.

But Kearns hit back: “I’ve always been very clear. I was critical of my own government, but the reality is 2.3% of defence is what we’ve been spending, that is a good amount, and we’ve been investing in the right equipment.”

She added: “But what I’m saying is, since July, a decision was made to side with the Treasury to not give the increase in defence spending we need to continue to replenish stocks, replenishing stocks should be the priority.”

She said that was necessary in case the UK needed to provide peacekeepers to Ukraine.

“I will continue to stand with Ukraine, but I will continue to speak out as I have done from the moment I was elected, to make sure we defend our security,” Kearns said.

The Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also criticised Labour’s defence spending today.

Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference, she said: “Failing to spend more on defence isn’t peace-making, it is weakness, and it only emboldens their threats to democracy and global stability.”

Kearns also said we “all have to worry” Trump will let Ukraine down.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said: “I think we all have to worry because the world has let down Ukraine consistently throughout its history. I mean, whether it was Yalta, whether it’s the last of years, whether it’s when Georgia was invaded.

“I was in Ukraine ten days before the renewed illegal invasion almost three years ago. And I sat there as German and French ambassadors told me that our intelligence assessments were absolutely wrong and that Putin wasn’t going to invade.

“We always seem to take Putin at his word and we always underestimate Ukrainians. I don’t understand how we keep repeating the same mistakes.”