LONDON — Keir Starmer confirmed Monday he will seek to accelerate defense spending as he tries to resolve a deadlock over budgets for key military programs. The British prime minister last year pledged to spend 2.6 percent of GDP on defense by 2027, and 3 percent by the end of the next parliament in 2034. Ministers are now considering accelerating those plans to hit 3 percent by 2029, as first reported by the BBC and backed up by two government officials. Asked about the BBC report, Starmer told journalists: “Over the weekend, I was making the argument at the Munich Security Conference that we, the U.K. and Europe, need to step up when it comes to defense and security.” He added: “That means on defense spending, we need to go faster.” Two defense insiders, one serving and one former official, told POLITICO the change in approach was prompted by negotiations over the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which are at a crunch point. Whitehall officials have set out which programs will need to be cut or delayed without new money, according to the two insiders. This is prompting fresh alarm in No. 10 Downing Street at the gap between key defense requirements and the funding available. The plan is expected to protect billions of pounds for the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent, the GCAP fighter jet program and the AUKUS submarine pact, placing a severe squeeze on the rest of the Ministry of Defence budget. However, bringing forward higher defense spending would pose a serious dilemma for the Treasury, which has already introduced cuts to overseas aid in order to make longer-term pledges. The DIP was originally due to land last fall, then promised by the end of 2025, but is still the subject of internal government wrangling. It’s caught in a standoff between the Treasury and the MOD, which The Times reported centers on a £28 billion shortfall in the plan.