The security minister has urged Rishi Sunak to raise defence spending “now, as soon as possible” to 2.5 per cent.
Tom Tugendhat made the intervention after Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, did not announce any extra cash for defence at the Budget last week. Defence spending currently stands at around 2.2 per cent of GDP.
Mr Tugendhat told Sky News: “What we’ve got to do is we’ve got to achieve the 2.5 per cent as soon as possible, that’s exactly what we need to do. We must see that increase in defence and that’s exactly why we need to have the boost in growth that Jeremy set out but why we need the economic prosperity that is underpinned by security.”
Asked whether he felt the Prime Minister should do more, he replied: “Well I want to achieve 2.5 per cent now, you know, as soon as possible. That is exactly what we need to achieve. The first step to do is get to 2.5 per cent, and then we have to adjust as the challenges we face evolve.”
Mr Tugendhat also declined to say whether Downing Street had signed off or known about an article on Saturday in which he and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a minister at the Foreign Office, both called for an increase to 2.5 per cent.
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