Boris says the UK will spend 2.5 PER CENT of GDP on defence by the end of the decade – around £10bn extra a year – as he warns Russia must not be allowed to ‘win’ in Ukraine at the end of crunch NATO summit
- Boris Johnson has said the UK will be spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030
- The PM was giving a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid
- Experts have warned that such an increase could mean more tax rises needed
The UK will be spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade, Boris Johnson announced today.
At a press conference ending the NATO summit in Madrid, the PM insisted budgets will soar well over the alliance’s 2 per cent target in the coming years as the government ‘invests for the long term’ and counters the threat from Russia.
The hike would be equivalent to around £10billion a year extra – with questions over whether taxes will have to rise further to meet the commitment.
However, Mr Johnson still faced questions over why the size of the army is being trimmed, arguing that the priority was ‘to have armed services that are brilliantly equipped’.
At a press conference ending the NATO summit in Madrid, Boris Johnson insisted budgets will soar well over the alliance’s 2 per cent target in the coming years
The PM said: ‘We need to invest for the long-term in vital capabilities like future combat air whilst simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and more competitive world.
‘The logical conclusion of the investments on which we propose to embark, these decisions, is that we’ll reach 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade.’
Mr Johnson described the Nato alliance as ‘united’ and in ‘robust health’ as the Madrid summit drew to a close.
The Prime Minister told a press conference: ‘The Nato alliance is plainly in robust health and getting stronger, with new members and a new purpose.
‘We can see that our work is cut out…’
‘If history is any guide, then I believe that this great alliance will again be successful.’
Despite the spending commitment, Mr Johnson is on the verge of abandoning a Tory manifesto pledge.
A senior government source has acknowledged that the 2019 promise to increase budgets by 0.5 percentage points above inflation might have to be abandoned.
The source pointed out that the public finances had been battered by Covid and inflation is set to hit 11 per cent this year.
‘The intention is always to honour manifesto commitments but they were made before £400 billion was spent coping with a global pandemic that none could have possibly foreseen,’ the source said.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been cranking up demands for higher military spending to counter the threat from Russia.
He warned at a RUSI think-tank event defence can no longer exist on a ‘diet of smoke and mirrors’, pointing out that ministers had behaved like ‘corporate raiders’ for decades as they diverted money to the NHS and other services.
Earlier this week IFS chief Paul Johnson issued a chart underlining how more money for health budgets had been found by easing back on military spending since the 1950s
Boris Johnson pictured at the NATO summit in Madrid today, as it came to a conclusion
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