Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 32 minutes ago
Defence minister Luke Pollard says the government is "matching the threats" the UK is facing with investments in "new kit and equipment" and by increasing defence spending. It comes after former NATO chief and Labour peer Lord Robertson accused the prime minister of "complacency" regarding defence spending. Report by Keechl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Transcript
00:00We're already spending more on defence. There's five billion pounds extra in the defence budget
00:04this year, thanks to the decisions the Chancellor took in her first budget. We're increasing
00:09defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in April 2027, and then increasing it every year for the next
00:14decade. So we're putting our money where our mouth is in terms of rearming, making sure that
00:19we're matching the threats that we are facing as a nation with new capabilities, new kits and
00:24equipment. And in doing so, we're channelling more of that defence money at British businesses,
00:29proving that defence can be an engine for growth.
00:31But Lord Robertson is really right to raise a red flag, isn't he? He's been asked to come up with
00:36this strategic defence review. You promised an investment plan to fund it, and you haven't done
00:43that.
00:43Well, if there's anyone who knows the mess that we inherited, it's Lord Robertson, because he led
00:49the strategic defence review work that proposed moving the United Kingdom to a different posture,
00:55moving us to war fighting readiness. We adopted every single one of his recommendations in the
01:00strategic defence review. And we're making sure that the defence investment plan is right,
01:04and we'll publish it very shortly.
Comments

Recommended