Mr Johnson was on Monday in Kyiv for the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where he told The Telegraph an increase to 2.5 per cent of national income was “not enough” ahead of Keir Starmer’s meeting with US president Donald Trump this week.
Asked whether the Prime Minister would promise Donald Trump that Britain will spend “much more” when he meets the US President next week, Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Let’s be clear, 2.5 per cent is ambitious.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has called on the government to increase its defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP as European leaders face growing pressure to devote greater resources to regional security.
His comments add to a growing domestic and international debate over the level of spending European allies should commit to continental security to fend off future Russian aggression, as the US brokers a peace deal to end the Ukraine war.
The former Tory leader earlier told The Independent Ukraine is just “days away” from signing a deal to cede control of its rare earth minerals to the US as part of a process to end the war with Russia.
