- By Peter Saul, Political Correspondent, James Gregory
- bbc news
image source, Getty Images
Two ministers are calling on the government to meet the 2.5% target sooner.
Two ministers have publicly called on the government to increase defense spending to more than 2.5% of national income.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat said the UK needed to “lead the way” and invest at a “much faster pace”.
Their article, posted on LinkedIn, comes in the wake of criticism that this week's budget fails to increase defense spending.
Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt, who introduced the budget, said spending was above NATO's 2% target and would be increased to 2.5% “as soon as economic conditions permit”.
But Mr Trevelyan, the foreign secretary, and Mr Tugendhat, the security minister, said there was no time for delay given the global risks posed by countries like Russia and China.
“The sad reality is that the world is no longer kind,” they said in an article published Saturday.
“We need investment to protect ourselves, and effective investment means that our industrial complex must grow and strengthen at a much faster pace than it currently does.
“The complex platforms and weapons that ensure military superiority cannot be brought into service overnight. We must start growing them now, supporting our allies, and investing at a pace that keeps us ahead of our adversaries. It must be done.”
The ministers also praised former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for their efforts to increase defense spending.
Cabinet ministers often lobby the prime minister before the budget is drawn up, and in some cases may make public statements, but it is unusual for them to speak out after the budget is drawn up.
Both ministers are understood to remain fully supportive of Mr Hunt and the Government's policy of achieving 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product “as soon as possible”, but both have stressed the importance of achieving the target as soon as possible. It seems like he wanted to emphasize it.
The Public Accounts Committee has also warned that the real deficit could approach £29bn because parts of the force only include affordable capabilities rather than all the capabilities the government has requested. .
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote to Mr Hunt in January asking for a commitment to 2.5% of the proposed budget.
But people close to him said he had no involvement in the LinkedIn article.
The article was also not approved by Downing Street, but a No. 10 source said this was normal for social media posts.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs in January that the government would set out a path towards 2.5%, adding that there had been a £24bn cash increase in the last spending review. This is “the largest sustained increase since the end of the Cold War,” he added. .
