After the prime minister confirmed he would be willing to put UK armed forces in harm’s way to defend the country, the former head of the army said the pledge “is going to come at a cost” and the PM’s current commitment, to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, “is not going to touch the sides”.
Boosting spending to Labour’s 2.5 per cent target would add around £5 billion to the Ministry of Defence’s budget, and Treasury sources indicated Rachel Reeves is not willing to allocate more than 2.3 per cent in this year’s spending review.
Asked whether Labour would boost spending to the levels called for by Lord Dannatt, health secretary Wes Streeting reaffirmed Labour’s manifesto commitment to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
After the prime minister confirmed he would be willing to put UK armed forces in harm’s way to defend the country, the former head of the army said the pledge ‘is going to come at a cost’.
He was joined by former defence secretary Ben Wallace, who said Sir Keir must recognise that the future of Nato depends on Britain spending at least 3 per cent of GDP by 2030.
