Top Royal Marine standing as MP says only Labour can be trusted on defence

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A high-flying Royal Marines colonel who has given up his military career to run for parliament has insisted that “only Labour can be trusted on defence”. These are intrinsically linked, as is our foreign policy.” ‘Keir’s army’ of former military personnel join the Labour leader in Manchester Col Carns is running in a campaign that has seen Rishi Sunak criticised for leaving D-Day commemorations early at a time when the prime minister was trying to make defence spending and security a major issue for voters. Are we moving fast enough to keep up with the character of conflict, and if we go to war tomorrow, are we ready?” Carns in Afghanistan Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to keep Trident as part of a “nuclear deterrent triple lock”; to place Nato in the centre of military strategy; to continue to provide Ukraine with armed support; and to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP once the economy allows it. “National security is the most important issue of our times, and that will become our solemn responsibility,” the Labour leader said.