Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly set to overrule Rachel Reeves by calling for increased military spending in a bid to boost support for Ukraine.

The Prime Minister will scramble to Paris on Monday for emergency talks with European counterparts after the US heaped pressure on the continent to bolster its support for war-torn Ukraine.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the need for increased defence spending is widely recognised, including by Ms Reeves.

He said: “The whole Cabinet, the whole Government, I think most people in this country recognise the pressures the world is under, recognise more will have to be spent on defence.

“Now the spending review will set out the roadmap towards that target.”

The Chancellor will set out the multi-year plan for public spending on June 11, which is expected to set out how the UK will increase the share spent on defence to 2.5% of the size of the economy, although it is not yet clear when that target will be reached.

But the Government is under pressure from defence chiefs to go further and Nato’s secretary-general Mark Rutte has suggested the alliance must set a target to spend at least 3% of gross domestic product.

“The Chancellor knows more than most people the pressures on public services across the board, but defence has to be the cornerstone of our national prosperity as well as our security,” Mr Reynolds said.

“There’s a whole range of things the UK does. Our contribution to the intelligence services, for instance, should be considered, I think, as part of that contribution to collective Western security.”

It comes as David Lammy warned the Chancellor that defence spending may need to treble to Cold War levels if Russia is allowed to win in Ukraine.

Sir Keir is expected to overrule his Chancellor and call for increased defence spending in a bid to woo Donald Trump before he flies to Washington to meet the president at the White House.

Downing Street has maintained plans to boost defence spending since Labour entered power last year but has yet to give a timetable as to when they will reach their goal of 2.5% of GDP. The spending review will set out the roadmap for hitting this.

The UK is currently at 2.3% of spending – although there are calls to reach 2.65% of GDP.

Mr Reynolds tried to play down divisions with the United States over the future of Ukraine.

The Business Secretary told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “We all want the war to end. Desperately want the war to end. I think it’s clear for that to be a durable peace, Ukraine has to be at the table, has to be part of that agreement.

“We believe Ukraine is on an irreversible path to Nato membership. But the US defence secretary has said everything is still on the table.”

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington “does not believe that Nato membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement” to end the war.

Mr Reynolds said the UK could act as the “bridge between European allies and our US allies, we can be the bridge that strengthens that relationship”.

Asked whether British troops could form part of a peacekeeping force after a ceasefire is agreed, he said: “We always say we’ll play our part in a peace settlement. It’s a little bit hypothetical at this stage, but of course it’s in our national interests to make sure that’s a durable peace.”

Meanwhile Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the Munich Security Conference “Putin will not go away”, and that, while it was positive 23 Nato countries were now spending at least 2% of their GDP on defence, “we all know we have to go upward”.

He said the UK was “absolutely” committed to spending 2.5% and would set out a “pathway” to achieving that goal in a few months’ time.

Mr Lammy’s comments came after US Vice-President JD Vance told the conference on Friday that Europe must “step up in a big way to provide for its own defence”.