Former Nato secretary general Lord George Robertson, who also authored the UK government's own strategic defence review, has sharply criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer's approach to military funding, warning that Britain is "underprepared, underinsured" and "in peril." Robertson, who led Nato from 1999 to 2003, pointed to the UK's ability to deploy only a single Royal Navy warship to the Mediterranean in the first two weeks of the Iran conflict as evidence of dangerous neglect, and accused Treasury officials of "vandalism" for blocking adequate defence investment. The remarks come amid reports of a £28 billion funding gap in Britain's military budget over the next four years, with the government's long-promised defence investment plan repeatedly delayed due to unresolved disagreements between the Ministry of Defence, the Treasury, and Downing Street.