The Bishop of Norwich today joined leading figures from politics, the military, national security, academia and faith communities to ask Sir Keir Starmer to invest in diplomacy and development, as well as defence.

The Rt Revd Graham Usher is one of more than 60 signatories to an open letter asking the Prime Minister to fund conflict prevention as part of the National Security Strategy. They include a former director of MI5, a former national security adviser, former secretaries of state for defence and commanders of British armed forces, and former head of the British Army, and Norfolk man, General Lord Richard Dannatt.

The letter, sent to 10 Downing Street today (Tuesday June 17) ahead of the next week’s NATO summit in The Hague on June 24 and 25, asks for a ring-fenced budget for the UK’s vital work in conflict prevention and resolution.

The letter urges the Prime Minister to fund initiatives to prevent, resolve and address the root causes of conflicts, and help societies recover.

It states: “Violent conflict is now a global crisis, impacting more countries than at any point since the Second World War. From Ukraine to Gaza, Sudan to Myanmar, conflicts are fuelling mass atrocities and forcing families to undertake dangerous journeys to seek safety elsewhere.”

And it warns that failing to fund peace-building work would mark the UK’s effective withdrawal from agendas it once championed including brokering peace and security agreements around the world.

The letter was published by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Conflict Prevention, Conflict, and signed by leading MPs and peers.

APPG chair, Alex Ballinger MP, is a former Royal Marine who served in Afghanistan and was an aid worker in the Middle East and Pakistan. He said: “We’ve seen again this week the cost to the UK of conflict increasing across the world – the cost to our economy, our cost of living, and huge risks to our national security.”

“In this dangerous world, we’ve done the right thing investing in our military – but we need to back that up by investing in proper conflict prevention on the ground. The UK has an excellent reputation here. Pulling back now puts us all more at risk.”

Further signatories include Lord Neil Kinnock, Rory Stewart, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the Bishop of London and leaders of Britain’s Jewish and Muslim communities.