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The new defence secretary has secured an extra £1.5bn to the UK’s long-delayed defence investment plan, with the bulk of that to be spent on drones to deter Russia and Iran.

Rows about closing an £18bn funding gap had led to the resignation of John Healey and raised questions about Britain’s commitments to Nato – though on Monday the head of the alliance told the Guardian he believed the UK would honour its commitments.

Two sources said the deficit had been reduced by £15bn after Dan Jarvis successfully persuaded the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to give the Ministry of Defence a little more than the £13.5bn promised to his predecessor, who quit in