Hegseth says some Nato allies will fail as he announces US review of Europe forces

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has severely criticised some of America's Nato allies, while announcing a six-month review of US forces in Europe.

"Some countries will fail, and others will pass with flying colours," he said at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, singling out allies that he suggested had been "free-riding".

Hegseth was also highly critical of Nato member states that had imposed limits on help to US forces during the war with Iran.

His announcement follows a US decision to scale back its commitments to a high readiness force within the alliance known as the Nato Force Model (NFM).

The aim of the review, which Hegseth termed Nato 3.0, was to "ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading" on security on the continent.

The US wants Nato members to contribute more to defence spending in Europe and says some countries have not shown how they will reach an agreed target of 5% of national economic output (GDP) which includes 3.5% on core defence and 1.5% on related infrastructure.

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said defence spending had already gone up €90bn (£78bn; $103bn) last year - a rise of almost 20% - and Europeans were "already backfilling" resources that the US was cutting back on.

Details of how the US will reduce its commitments have not been made public but it has been indicated they include air and naval capabilities.